Life is Strange: The Arcadia Phenomenon
by Rougeification
Summary: The month following Chloe's death is one that only got worse. A spiralling party boy, an awkward outsider, a gossiping journalist, a hot-headed jock, a former queen bee and a reclusive orphan all discover that they possess powers. And, with an impending threat, the six of them must find a way to save Arcadia Bay... but how far do you go?
1. Character Form

**Hey guys! R here. So, I've always wanted to do this story for about… two years now, at least. I was going to make it just a standard insert-OC, but I've decided against that.**

 **This story takes place immediately after Chloe Price is shot and killed by Nathan Prescott. Robbie Morrigan discovers he has a power, along with others in Arcadia Bay. However, with everyone using their powers, Arcadia Bay is in danger once again. But is it from another natural disaster, or is it because of 6 Students at Arcadia Bay? SYOC (5/5 Slots Open)**

 **I'm only going to have a small cast – 6 main characters, including Robbie. There's 5 slots open. I may include more characters, but they'd be in the background more. Rules:**

 **I'm very skittish about powers that are TOO powerful. I am aware I'm breaking my own rule, but there's a story-telling reason behind it.**

 **No "younger brother of Max" or "boyfriend of Chloe" or whatever. How I write stories is trying to make them as close to canon as possible – so, Juliet or Victoria could have a sibling, but if it's a character we've seen a lot (like Max or Chloe or Rachel), I'm not going to allow it.**

 **No two people can have the same power. Since powers were never really explained, I'm saying that it's tailored to your DNA. People can have similar powers, but not exactly the same.**

 **Like the game, this story is going to consist of numerous decisions. I'll be asking how your characters will respond to this, and need regular reviews or PMs to answer these questions.**

 **A/N: I'm only picking 5 characters. This is purely because I work better with a small cast, and larger casts are so hard, because I need to give everyone 'screen-time', and it's harder to put them in situations where you can focus on their characterization and so on. I'd rather portray 5 of your characters extremely well, then half-arse it with 10 characters. Personally, I prefer working with smaller casts. If your character is not chosen, it's not because they're a bad character, it is simply because I don't think they're best suited to this story. That's all.**

 **Updates may vary, but the first chapter will be up within the next 24 hours (if I get some applications soon)**

 **I'll put this form up on my profile. PM forms only please.**

Name:

Nickname:

Age: (Students – 16-19)

Ethnicity:

Hometown:

Gender:

Sexuality:

Hair: (Colour and style)

Eyes: (Colour and shape)

Height:

Facial Features:

Celebrity Look-a-Like: (Completely optional)

Clothing: (List what they typically wear, how they wear it and so on)

Powers: (No more time-alterations)

Do they live at Blackwell Academy?

If not, where? And how do they get to the Academy?:

Hobbies:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Background:

Personality:

Subjects: (Between 3 & 4)

School Clubs / Sports Teams:

Favourite Hang-Out:

Three sentences to describe your student:

Family: (Name, Age, Occupation and whether they're alive)

Ideal type of relationship partner:

Things they like in a person:

Things they dislike in a person:

How does your character cope with anger?:

How does your character cope with loss?:

How do they respond to their powers?:

How do they respond to finding out other people have powers?:

Opinions on...

Max Caulfield:

Chloe Price: (Before and after her death)

Nathan Prescott: (Before and after the shooting)

Frank:

Blackwell Academy:

Mr. Jefferson's Arrest:

Kate and her video:

The Vortex Club:

Other: (I.e. Just little facts. Are they a bad driver? Left-handed? What are the rumours about them? Are there any personality / mental disorders or conditions? Do they have a spirit animal like Max?)


	2. Prologue: Bioinformatic Paradigm

**A/N: Hey Guys, thanks for all the reviews – it's great to get such an amazing amount of support. I'll be posting a castlist soon when all the spots are filled. Just wanted to address some of the reviews:**

 _ **Harukawa Ayame**_ – _We will be seeing some Canon Characters – as you will see shortly. The focus will be more on Arcadia Bay as a place, and the OCs in this story. And yes, in this reality, Max never used her 'Rewind' powers to save Chloe. And we'll see how Jeffords gets arrested. I can promise you that Max is involved. After all, she promised Chloe she'd make him pay._

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Haha, great I eagerly await your OC! I do know what you mean – I never thought about taking photography for this reason._

 _ **EclipseKuran –**_ _I would strongly suggest finishing the game first – this story is post-canon, as I said in the description. I just don't want to spoil it for you._

 _ **CapriciousUke –**_ _Thanks pal! I wrote this chapter in a single night! It's good to be inspired!_

 _ **Boris Yeltsin**_ _ **–**_ _Good to hear friend-o. I'd rather hear that than the opposite._

 _ **Iamgoku –**_ _Cannot wait!_

 **This is actually a good point to bring up a little point: As many of you know, Joker the prince of crime started a Life is Strange SYOC before I did. I've even submitted my own character. I'm not accepting duplicates of characters from their story - I want our stories to be original and different, so I'll get as much enjoyment from reading theirs as you will from reading mine.**

 **I will now announce that I have accepted 2 characters.**

 _ **W. R. Winters**_ **\- Mackenna 'Kenna' Lancaster – 18 – Empathy / Pathokinesis**

 _ **Harukawa Ayame**_ **– Margaret 'Maggie' Fournier – 18 – Zoolingualism**

 **Robbie** : _**Bioinformatic Paradigm**_

I like cars. Working on them, I mean, not driving them – I've been told I'm actually something of a terrible driver. No, I liked the mechanics; Seeing all of the pieces fitting together and working in unison, the satisfaction on the hearing the engine roar to life. I just felt that when I was working, I was doing something – using my hands. If there is anything in life that was really pathetic, it was someone who didn't have purpose. I guess that was another reason why I liked cars – they needed constant maintenance and attention. If you had a car, you had something to occupy you. A type of meditation.

As I fitted the timing belt over the new alternator, the world just sort of started to melt away. The ambient noise of rock music from my earphones just seemed to dissipate into white noise. However as I shut the hood of the bonnet back down, I felt a sense of accomplishment – having a physical object that's the result of my work. Something tangible to show for months of work. The car would run soon, if I could just start tuning it soon – not that Wheeler would ever let me…

I took out my earphones, dodging a couple of the boys in my class that were trying to wipe the oil off of their overalls and onto each other. I laughed as one of them had oil wiped into his mouth, and walked around the car to pick up my bag, making my way to the garage door.

"Morrigan!" 

I let out a groan and turned around to see Wheeler standing there, arms folded. His black hair was cropped short, as he adjusted those leather fingerless gloves. If you hadn't guessed from his padded leather number, heavy boots, and all the fucking _Harley Davidson_ patches (he wore them like a chain smoker would wear nicotine patches), he had a motorbike. I mean, he rode it into school every day, but he thought he was a member of Hell's Angels… or some rip-off, discounted version.

"Yes, sir?"

"Where do you think you're going?"

"…To my dorms."

"Have you changed the oil today?"

"Checked the tires?"  
"Changed them last night."

He paused, clearly trying to find something to lecture me. Then I saw that eyebrow raise as his lips pulled up into a cocky smirk.

"You've finished testing the brake lines?"

If I was anyone else, I wouldn't have. But, luckily, I was a gearhead – other boys joined sports teams, or got part-time jobs. I learnt about cars – and not _Ferrari_ 's or _Lamborghini'_ s or whatever sports car they marvel at – I was interested in how they worked. So, I got to return Wheeler's cocky grin. 

"I did that yesterday."

His face dropped. There was no anger, just pure amazement and confusion.

"That wasn't your assignment yesterday. What have you been doing all this time?"

"Changing the alternator," I nodded towards the open bonnet.

"Th- the alternator?"

Wheeler walked over to my car, popped the bonnet, and dipped his head inside the hood to examine the engine.

"Where did you get a spare alternator from?" Wheeler growled, beginning his interrogation. You should've seen his face when I shrugged, "Come on, what – did you jack it from someone else's car?"  
"No, I built it."

"Built it from what?"  
"From metal," I pulled my bag over my shoulder. Wheeler laughed.

"And where did you find this metal?"  
"The junkyard by the rails."

Wheeler shook his head, letting out a grotesque, arrogant guffaw.

"For some reason, I don't believe you Morrigan," Wheeler turned away to focus on the boys trying to wipe oil on each other.

"I'm sure I'll lose sleep over that Wheeler…" I turned around and exited the garage.

To be honest, I couldn't care less if Wheeler didn't believe me. He could bitch about me as much as he wanted, but I knew I was the best one in that garage. What it took other boys a week to learn, it took me a day. Not because I was a genius, or because they were idiots, but because I took to mechanics naturally. It appealed to me – I enjoyed learning about it. Plus, I wasn't close with any of the other boys to get distracted.

Outside, I lit a cigarette – technically, the garage was not on campus, so I wasn't actually breaking any rules by smoking. I smiled – Nate always said I'd make a good lawyer. My phone began to buzz, and as I removed it from my jeans, I saw that Nate was calling.

"Yo, what's up?"

"You outta shop yet?" Nathan sounded panicked, terrified, even.

"Yeah – I just left. What's up? You sound kinda shaken up…"

"Chloe fucking Price is here man. She's following me."

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. Chloe had a habit of fucking up everyone's lives. I began to make my way towards campus.

"Listen, I'm on my way. I'll talk to Chloe."  
"Rob, man, I took… I've got my dad's…"

My heart leapt up into my throat. I remembered when we were thirteen, sneaking into his dad's study and looking at his father's assortments. Varying in size, weight and how quickly it would kill you.

"Nate, what did you do?"

I could hear his trembling breath down the phone line as he began to sob. My legs began to stop working as I came to the entrance of campus. And the next words Nathan sobbed quietly into the phone caused a level of panic in me I had never felt before.

"I've got his gun on me."

My cigarette dropped onto the ground.

"Nathan," I had to keep my voice steady – if I freaked him out, there's no telling what he would do, "Nate, let's get out of here. We can go somewhere where we can both talk. We'll figure this out, Nate," he remained silent, which was the best thing I could hope for – when Nathan got angry, he would shut you out, cut you off. He was listening to me, which meant I could get him out of this, "Look, I ain't going anywhere. You can count on me, buddy. Everything's going to be okay-"

"I can't be in here dude…" Nathan's voice cracked even more. It took everything in me to keep my own from breaking too.

"Find a quiet place. Where are you?"  
"By the entrance…"

I was about to tell him to come out through the doors. If I had, maybe everything would have changed. Maybe I would have taken him to the junkyard, and we could have talked everything out. I knew Nathan better than anyone – I could get through to him. We'd had each other's backs through thick and thin. There was a reason I greeted him as brother. If I could have just told him to walk out of those doors, maybe everything could have been avoided.

If I had just said a different sentence.

Instead, I didn't want to make him do anything. I thought he was too fragile, and needed to wait for me – if he was on his own, he was vulnerable.

"Okay, just go into the toilets – I'll meet you there."

I hung up the phone, and sprinted through campus. I wasn't aware of how heavy I was breathing, or how much I was sweating in that warm climate. I just needed to get to Nathan.

I barrelled into a group of students who came out of the double doors of the Academy. I hit the floor hard, looking up to see the familiar soft, blonde hair, those perfectly round grey eyes – it was no-one other than Kenna – an old friend. And by 'old friend', I don't mean that we had been friends for a long time (though we had, but that's not what I'm referring to), and I don't mean that she was old, and happened to be a friend of mine. No, I meant that she used to be friends with me up until recently. Until she'd started to become very… well, that wasn't important.

I pushed myself up off her, my hand grazing hers, but as it did, I felt something – a strange surge of warmth. I pulled my hand back from her, examining it in confusion. Kenna's eyes flickered to her own hand – as if she'd just experienced the same thing that I did. And then we stopped. We all stopped – the crowd of students Kenna had been walking with included. We all turned towards the school. It was that unmistakable, easily distinguished sound of a gunshot.

Everyone broke into screams, running down the steps. I pushed my way through the crowds, shoving the door open. Once inside, I saw groups of people frenzied, running everywhere. I had to get to Nathan.

I ran towards the girl's toilets, and slowed down, standing beside the door. If Nathan had shot the gun, he was unpredictable.

"Nathan, mate? Nate, it's me," I called from outside the door softly, "It's Rob. I'm going to come in now, alright?"

I heard the whimpering, and creaked open the door. Nathan scrambled along the floor, picking up the gun off the floor. He held it behind his head with his other hand as he began to pace along the cubicles. I took a step forwards, and felt a small splash. I looked down, and I saw a girl.

Piercing, violent, blue hair poking out from her beanie. A small, skinny frame, with a magnitude of tattoos, her white shirt, now stained red, hung off of her still, rigid body of Chloe Price. I immediately dropped down onto my knees, peeling off my jacket and placing it over her stomach, pushing it down on her.

"Nate! Nathan, don't just stand there, help me!"

Nathan began to pace back and forth once more, muttering to himself as his eyes began to seep out tears. He would loosely move his arms around, waving the gun.

"Nathan, she's going to die if you don't help me!"

"I-I didn't mean to! She just… I- she was-"

"It's going to be okay," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, saying it more to myself than to Nathan or Chloe, "call 911!" I shouted at him. I wrapped a hand around Chloe's neck, "Chloe? Chloe, you need to wake up…" My eyes began to sting with tears, "Chloe, you need to wake up, okay?" She remained motionless. I pressed my fingers into her neck, and felt the most awful thing I've ever felt in my life – the absence of a pulse.

I wrapped one hand on top of the other and began to jut my hands against her sternum, feeling her bones crack and scratch against each other as I did so. Thirty chest compressions, two breaths.

"Nathan, call 911-"

"Drop the gun!"

I turned around to see Campus Security, Madsen, standing at the doorway, holding a handgun out at Nathan. Nathan returned the aim, the gun shaking violently in his hand.

"Just… Just go away! Leave me alone!" Nathan wiped his tears away.  
"Put the gun down-"

"Don't! Tell me! What to do!" Nathan screeched.

"Come on Chloe," I muttered, "For fuck's sake, wake up…"

"I'm going to count to three-" Madsen began. I leant down to breathe into Chloe's mouth, grasping her nose. I felt her thin, hollow lips brush against the corners of my own. I jettisoned as much air as I could into her lungs. I turned away, trying to suck in all the oxygen in the world, and exhaled into her lungs again. I checked her neck again – no change. "One,"

"Don't," Nathan wept.

I fell backwards from Chloe, looking down at my hands, with blood stained on my hands. I looked up at Nathan, whose eyes fell back onto me, then onto Chloe.

"Nathan," I shook my head, trying to reign in the tears in my ducts, "Nate, you can end this." I stood up. Nathan pointed the gun towards me for a moment. It was as if he'd already shot me.

That was the first time it happened. I heard him talk, only he wasn't talking. It wasn't so much like hearing a sentence, more a mixture of feelings and flashes of Chloe on the floor, and myself approaching him. It was fragmented and broken – like looking at your reflection in the cracked parts of a mirror. I could see his dad, his mum, the photography teacher, Mr. Jeffords, the other students. It all flashed through my mind.

"Nate, it's me," I held up my hands, "it's me, brother. I know that this isn't what you wanted," I took a step towards him. I could feel the panic he felt, like a whip that cracked against his neck with my step. I could feel confusion, the utter terror. When you don't know what's wrong with you, why you're this monster. Why there's a man pointing a gun at you… why there's a dead girl on the floor. You didn't want this.

"I believe you," I reassured him, "I know you don't know what's happening Nate, but I'm here. I'll always be here, brother. I know that you don't want to hurt anyone… you…" I tried to listen to him again, hearing the gunshot, him shouting, Chloe shouting, "you're sick of everyone trying to control you." His eyes widened. "You think that… everyone hates you… that everyone's using you…" I wasn't just hearing this, I was feeling it. Every pang of self-loathing, every day for 18 years when you've been told you're worthless, an embarrassment, you need pills to fix you. "This isn't your fault."

I took another step towards him.

"Nathan, I've never hated you. Remember when we used to get high at the Junkyard? Or, when we graffitied the Two Whales Diner?" I saw the snippets with him. "You're in control here Nathan," I held out a hand, "you can choose to end this the right way. Just give me the gun." I saw Nathan's eyes flicker to Madsen, and felt his distrust, his caution, the confusion of paranoia- "No, he won't shoot you," I promised, "he won't do anything. As soon as you give me that gun, he'll put his down." I slowly put my hand on the gun, "you can choose to end this."

I gently brought up my other arm, and took the gun away from him. I managed to let out a sigh of relief, and felt Nathan's arms wrap around me as he sobbed into my shirt. I clung on to him. I would have cried too, but I knew I had to be strong for him now. I looked over to Madsen, who still had his gun raised. I held out a hand, offering the gun to him. He walked in, taking it from me. He walked over to Chloe, feeling her pulse, and hung his head in shame.

"I'm sorry," Nathan whispered to me, "I'm so, so, sorry…"  
"I know you are…" I whispered back to Nathan. He leant backwards, and took a step away from me. As he did so, Madsen threw me out of the way, pinning Nate to the ground as he cried out, "Get off him, he's co-operating-"

I tried to pull off Madsen, only to have an elbow hit me in the face, sending me into the mirror, which cracked. I grabbed my forehead in pain, feeling a sting across my eyebrow. I drew my hand away and saw blood. Madsen pulled out a zip-tie, fastening Nate's hands together. I tried to push myself up, only to have my hands slip in the blood, and I hit my head on the tiles. The last thing I heard, was Nathan shouting out my name.

Outside, there were a couple of ambulances. I sat in one, as the paramedic pulled out fragments of broken mirror out of my eyebrow. She said it was too small to need stitches, so I got a very high-tech-looking plaster. After a couple of 'look in the light,' 'look to your left', 'look to your right', 'what's your name?', 'where do you go to school?', and so on, they concluded I didn't have a concussion.

The police wouldn't let me talk to Nathan when they escorted him out. I ran towards them, trying to tell Nathan that I'd visit, and that everything would be okay, but I was quickly restrained by one of the cops. So, instead, I simply sat in the ambulance and watched the other students gather around. Of course, there was Juliet Watson, our resident journalist. Though, close at her heel was Maggie Fournier – a bigger gossip than Juliet, and some would say a better journalist. I could see her eyes – those blue, feline eyes fixate on me, her head cocked to the side as she spoke into her phone.

We all turned to see the police escorting someone out – a skinny brunette, her hair cut short. Her eyes were burning red. She had a blanket around her – presumably because of the shock. As she came closer, I began to recognize her – she was in my year. Max Caulfield – a quiet girl, always hiding behind her polaroid camera. Personally, I never had many dealings with her – she was always on the outside. Not to mention that Nate never got on with her…

I glanced back to see Maggie - she was shocked at what had happened - that much was obvious – everyone was shocked. But she had that glimmer of excitement… not in a psychotic way, more in… like, when you wake up in the morning and you're ready to start your day. She was ready to start gossiping and investigating. It was weird… feeling that sense of purpose.

I felt confusion, bundled up in wonder and surprise as I looked back to see Kenna standing there, wearing her _Gucci_ pants and _Prada_ jacket. A pretty face in a Hollywood hairdo, with a face like the diamonds in her earrings (knowing how well _Lancaster Co._ did, you could bet her parents bought her diamond earrings). I saw her brow furrow as she squinted her silvery eyes at me, and I could make out a single, questioning thought.

 _Is he doing it too?_

 **A/N: Damn this was long. It took me longer than I expected, but here it is. So, thank you to everyone for waiting. I have to say, I'm excited to write this story. There are three spots left for Blackwell Students. These two characters fit very well into the feel that I'm going for with this story.**

 **So, let me know your thoughts on Robbie as the first character we meet. Be honest, be brutal – as long as it's constructive, I have thick skin. To W. R. Winters and Harukawa Ayame – please PM me what your OCs will think respectively of Robbie.**

 **If you're submitting a character, please include your OC's opinion of Robbie at the bottom of your form.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this meaty chapter.**


	3. Chapter 1: Freezing Trigger

**A/N: Hey guys! Welcome to Chapter 1: Freezing Trigger. This introduces another OC. I just wanted to say, my Spanish is pretty god-awful, as I only learnt enough to get through Madrid. As you can see from the following, it's mainly insults and curse-words I know. But, that ties in with the character, I guess. So, enjoy!**

 _ **Evan Trails**_ _ **–**_ _Well, bear in mind, we saw a certain side of Nathan. I always saw him as a kid in a bad situation and it just got worse. I'm not saying I'm right, that's just my two cents on it. As for your character, I'm still carefully considering the last two positions._

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _Thank you! As I said above, I'm still considering many OCs. The amount of characters I've received is staggering – it's kept me very busy! Your OC was… argh, wait it'll come to me… was it Michael? You'll need to explain his nickname to me, by the way, I'm intrigued by it…  
_

 _ **Harukawa Ayame**_ _– the first reviewer of this story! You have a special place in my heart… I hope you enjoy seeing a little more of Maggie in this scene. I've got bigger plans for her in the next scene though. Let me know if I've got her right. She'll have a bit more attention in the next couple of chapters though, trust me._

 _As for Robbie being friends with Nathan – well, you'll learn how close they were. And how they came to be so close. Hope you enjoy seeing a different side to Robbie, too._

 _ **Gadget The Critic**_ _**-**_ _As I said, feel free to submit one as long as you have some knowledge about the storyline, setting and characters. The more you know, the more fulfilment you'll get from reading this._

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Thank you so, so much! Well, what did you expect? And let me know…  
_

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Haha, thanks – Well, this is the effort I want to put in with every OC that comes my way. This is why my questioning of them is quite intense. And I don't like Nathan, I just empathise with him. As to "his power what was that", I can say you're 100% wrong, but that's because of your phrasing. It's a secret what his power actually is, but there's going to be a massive giveaway in the next couple of chapters._

 _ **EclipseKuran –**_ _Haha, thank you! You're too sweet! Little cousins are the devil… but they're adorable. It's a tricky one…  
I'm glad to hear I'm not spoiling the game for you. _

_**CapriciousUke –**_ _Haha, for roughly half of my life – and yes, that is in regards to writing stories and everything. I'm currently at university writing stories._

 **Now guys, just a little sidenote – almost everyone has sent in the same opinion of Robbie – "he was very brave. So-and-so wants to be friends with him". This isn't bad – in fact, it's flattering. But, there's not much to make use of there. Do they like him? Why? Why not?**

 **Don't worry about hurting my feelings – if you think that Robbie is an absolute arsehole, that's fine – just give me a reason that they feel that way about him. They can despise him, admire him, have a crush on him, mess around with him during Music, or cheat off his paper in English. Just throw in something random to make it a little more unique to you. These details make a massive difference in making your characters more realistic.**

Octavio: Freezing Trigger

The school bell rang, resonating and reverberating down the hall. There was that steady rumble that ran through the school as crowds and throngs of students began to churn down the hallway. I was in that tide of teenagers, making my way out of Algebra. I was that taller kid that wore the massive black headphones at all times. It helped block people out. Plus, I had a love for psychedelic rock. I guess because no-one liked it. It was happy, it was moody, it wasn't listened to widely… I guess it was me.

You'd never be able to tell that a shooting had taken place here. Three days later, and everything was back to normal. I mean, the girls' toilets were still closed, and there were a bunch of flowers that were put outside, but that was it. A few posters about gun safety and everything was hunky-dory apparently.

All it took was some cocky, arrogant rich boy like Nathan Prescott to snap, and bring a gun into school. A few posters and flowers weren't going to stop that happening. No one got it. No one even cared about it now…

My thoughts were interrupted by a blow to my head. My ear began to sting, a high whine ringing through my head as I grabbed it in pain. I looked down the hall, and saw Logan Robertson, standing there with the other meatheads, laughing his typical 'bro' laugh. Idiots.

"Yo, sorry, Octavi-bro," they laughed, walking down the hall as if they owned. I couldn't help but scoff – they were a group of walking clichés. Bullies. I put on a polite smile and held up a hand, so as to say 'it's fine, I know you and your tribe of _babosi_ don't have a braincell between the three of you, don't worry – not your fault'.

They grinned, walking by – muscles exploding out of their letterman jackets, that they clearly picked to be a size too small.

The biggest guy, Logan, turned back, lunging towards me. I shrunk away quickly, widening the gap between us, expecting him to try and punch me (or worse). He simply smiled at my flinching, slapping my shoulder.

"Loosen up, bro. Just saying good morning," Logan laughed, walking off with his cronies.

" _Tonto_ …" I muttered to myself – the jocks here were all the same. Arrogant, brain-dead and bullies. Just because everyone adored them, they thought they were the greatest thing alive – God's gift to us mere mortals. But, I had the quiet satisfaction of knowing they'd end up flipping burgers for a living, while I got the hell out of Arcadia Bay.

I continued walking down the hallway to my locker. I had Media Lit. next, and I didn't tend to spend most of my time in the hallways. I just wanted to get to my next class.

"Hey, Octavio," I stopped, looking to see the cheerleaders in a crowd with the most gorgeous cheerleader, Dana Ward. Auburn hair, tied back in a simple ponytail, piercing blue, feline eyes that shone like chandeliers, "Have you got a minute?"  
"I-a minute? Yeah- Yeah, sure I have…" I cleared my throat.

"I was wondering what you are doing Friday night?" She asked coyly, raising an eyebrow as she gripped her folder tightly, swinging from side to side. My mouth hung open, as I tried to think about whether I was assuming something.

"Erm… Friday- this Friday? I…" I looked up, trying to think about what I would actually be doing on Friday. I wanted to up the RAM on my laptop, oh, and I found this awesome SSD in a laptop someone had thrown into the trash- "Nothing. Nothing at all… why? What did you have in-"

"Okay, well you know my boyfriend, Trevor?" Of. Fucking. Course. "Well, he said he'd be able to get me some dope speakers for the party, and he just totally bailed on me at the last second. You've got some, right?"  
"I…" I hung my head, rubbing my forehead; I could only chuckle at what an idiot I'd been, "Sure, yeah, I can throw something together."  
"You're a lifesaver-" She smiled, going to hug me. She then stopped. "Was that totally awful of me to say?"  
"Nah… not really. It'd be bad if you said it was a matter of life or death, or if you said you'd die if you didn't get the speakers…"

There was a tense silence, as Dana's cheerleader friends all stared at me in awe. I coughed, clearing my throat once again as I looked around. Yup – that seems about right.

"Well, I'll… I'll e-mail you about the speakers, yeah?" I turned and carried on walking, mentally kicking myself. This was why I didn't talk to people. I kept my eyes pinned to the floor until I got to my locker, and of course, it wasn't that easy. By my locker, was no-one other than Zach Riggins, making out with his girlfriend, Juliet Watson. They were aggressive, slamming each other into the locker. My locker.

"Guys, can you…" they didn't hear me, "Hey guys, do you mind moving…?" They didn't even know I was there. They did, however, move out of the way of my locker. I took my opening, and quickly opened my locker, trying to get my Media Lit. textbooks. However, Zach and Juliet rolled back along the lockers, closing it on my head. I let out a groan, trying to pull my head out, but the locker was firmly shut there. I shoved the locker open, pulling my head out, however, the clanging of the locker broke the two apart. They both grinned as they saw me.

"Oh, hey Octavi-ho." Zach grinned.

"Ha, real original Zach…" I mumbled.

"Hey, Octavio," Juliet giggled, pulling away from Zach's embarrassing attempts at kissing, "We haven't gotten an article from you in ages."

I groaned – Juliet seemed to be the worst when it came to the reporters at the _Blackwell Totem_. Well, one of the worst.

"Yeah… my, erm… I've been busy. You know, with the whole…" I gestured off into the distance, with no idea as to what I was actually saying.

"Oh, right… of course…" Juliet's face fell as she looked down the hall, to where the girls' toilets were cordoned off. "Were you close with her?"  
"With who?"  
"Chloe Price."  
"Oh, God, no! I mean, I knew her but…" I shrugged, "I dunno, I figure that… Well, she was into all sorts of shit, you know?" I let out a little chuckle. A nervous chuckle, not a ha-ha chuckle. There was a pause. I don't think anyone knew how to act when talking about Chloe Price, but apparently the way I was acting was wrong.

"Hey, hey Octavio! I wanted to ask you-"

Maggie Fournier came up to me, pulling me in for a hug. It was weird being around Maggie – she was friendly, sure, and incredibly gorgeous, in a 'girl next door, woke up looking pretty' kind of way but she was very touchy-feely. Something I didn't go in for. The only people I hugged were my mother and my _abuela_. Maggie was very popular, a member of _Vortex_ with Zach and Juliet. It was only because of Juliet that I was a columnist for the _Blackwell Totem_. She was a real pain in the ass, but she meant well. I didn't really dislike her – she just had a habit of annoying me from time to time. But most people did, to be honest.

"Juliet!" Maggie pulled in Juliet for a large hug. The two had a weird relationship - when they were together, they were like best friends, or sisters. However, the constant competition between being the Ace newshound of Blackwell was unbearable. I seriously thought it'd turn bloody at some point.

"Can I borrow him for a second?"  
"Yes please…" I mumbled, trying to get away from Zach and Juliet.

"Oh, yeah, Oxy," Zach called, "Dad wanted me to remind you that mom's birthday is coming up-"

"Yeah, I kno- thanks, I remember!" I called back as Maggie dragged me down the hallway.

"See you later Oxy!" Zach replied, going back to making out with Juliet in the hallway.

I turned to Maggie.

"Maggie, what's so urgent?"  
"I need your help writing a story."

"What story?"  
"Just… watch," we stopped outside the art classroom as we saw two police officers be escorted into the room by Principal Wells.

"What? Maggie, what's happening? Has a student got drugs or…" I paused, "is this to do with Chloe Price?"  
"No," Maggie let out a little giggle of excitement, "You remember Rachel Amber, right?"

Rachel Amber. She was the most beautiful, popular girl at Blackwell. There wasn't a person who hated her. Even _I_ didn't dislike her. She was lovely. Intelligent too. I repaired her computer a couple of times – not for payment. She was just… she was really nice.

"Who doesn't?"

"Well," Maggie turned to me, "they found her buried in the junkyard, you know, by the tracks?"

I froze. I knew she'd been missing for months, and was almost certainly dead, but to hear she was _buried_? She was killed then? Before I could respond, I saw the police exit the classroom, Mr. Jeffords, the Art teacher walking between them, his hands in cuffs.

"Yeah, seems Jeffords took his whole 'dark and twisty' photographer persona too far…"

I watched him walking past us, no desperation or resistance. He walked calmly, looking at each of us in the eye. It was chilling, that was certain. When he looked at me… he wasn't Mr. Jeffords anymore. He was… he was something else. Something bad. Something dangerous.

"It's always the creative ones…" I mumbled, "He killed her, then?"  
"No, I don't think _he_ killed her…" She grinned, "Turns out Nathan Prescott was his protégé."

"Wait, Nathan Prescott killed Rachel?"  
"That's what I heard." 

I rolled my eyes.

"Heard from who, Maggie?"  
"A journalist never reveals her sources."  
"Well, that's convenient," I raised an eyebrow. Maggie hit my arm, then gestured with her head down the hallway. The students began to part as a student walked down – Robbie Morrigan. Well, the shell of Robbie Morrigan.

Robbie was always a popular guy. I mean, he was tight with Nathan Prescott, so it's no surprise. Robbie wasn't an asshole like Nathan though (Then again, no one was an asshole like Nathan). But he was part of the Vortex Club, and thought the school was his – everyone knew he did graffiti around school, even the teachers. He got away with it because he's a trust-fund fairy. Now? He hunched his shoulders, his hair wasn't styled, his clothes weren't clean. His eyes, once a bright hazel tone, were now bloodshot and red. It didn't take a genius to figure out he had been crying a lot.

"You know he was there, right?" Maggie asked, a small smile creeping up on her lips.  
"Robbie Morrigan? What do you mean, there?"  
"In the bathroom when Nathan shot Chloe."  
"I heard that it was Max Caulfield?" I turned to her gleeful, amazed face.

"What? Really? Maxine Caulfield? What-"

"Chill, Maggie Mouthpiece, that was off the record," I held up a hand, "and it's probably not even true." I paused, piecing it all together. Maggie's joy, Robbie's presence… "Why have you brought this up, Maggie?" She was silent. "Jesus Christ, you aren't going to try and interview him, are you?"

"I'm a journalist," Maggie protested, "it's what I do! Besides, if Juliet Watson gets to him before I do…"

"Maggie, his mate's in prison." I informed her. "Don't be a jerk."  
"Since when were you his friend?"  
"I'm not."

"So, what gives? You know Nathan Prescott was a psycho-"

"And Robbie Morrigan's an asshole, sure. But come on, don't act like them…"

We looked over to Robbie, who trudged over to his locker. It only took one look to tell he was broken. I'd say I felt bad for him, but to be honest, it felt good to see him like this. That was punishment enough for being a jerk.

Wait… Robbie Morrigan had been quiet for days. Now, however, he was out of his room, and he's clearly been crying. Why? I looked back to Maggie.

"You haven't told anyone else about Rachel Amber, have you?" Maggie opened her mouth, visibly offended.

"Obviously not! Come on, I'm not that insensitive. I'm not going to pile that on him."  
"But you'll interview him?"  
"…Talking through things helps…" She said innocently.

"So, no-one else knows about Rachel Amber?" Maggie didn't answer. That was never good. Maggie wasn't the type to just sit on gossip – especially big gossip. "Maggie, tell me you didn't publish it…"

We looked over to see Robbie open his bag – there was a clear copy of the paper, with the _Blackwell Totem_ emblazoned clearly above the top. I looked back to Maggie, who bit her lip anxiously.

"Nice going Maggie, really…" I shook my head.

"What? All of us loved Rachel, not just him-"

"Whatever…" I shook my head – this was someone else's problem.

I went to move past Robbie. Just another minute or so, and I'd be in the Media labs. I stopped, looking over to Robbie, who gave out a couple of polite head nods, but was no longer loud or rowdy as he used to be. Honestly, I didn't want to befriend him – I just wanted to check he was alright. The news about Rachel so soon after Nathan – no-one deserved that. I cleared my throat.

"Hey… hi… Robbie… Robbie… Racer," I smiled awkwardly - that's what the Vortex club did, right? They gave people nicknames like that? (I know, it was awful. I didn't give people nicknames!) Robbie simply looked at me, his void and vacant of any emotion. He turned back to his locker, "Erm… listen, I don't know if it'd help… I just wanted to say… about Rachel," Robbie paused; he still hadn't made any motion to acknowledge me, but his hand began to tighten and clench around his locker's door, "erm, my Bible Study group is meeting this Sunday, and I was wondering if you want to come along? Maybe it'd help to hear she's in a better-"

"Not today," Robbie said in a low, cracked voice, not looking at me, as he fastened his bag. He spoke quietly, shaking his head, "Just, not today."

"Hey… I just… I just wanted to check-" I put a hand on his shoulder.

In a split second, Robbie batted away my hand, grabbed my shirt, and slammed me into the lockers, pinning me there. I looked down at him, his face contorted in rage, those burning, scarlet eyes glaring at me. I held my hands up, trying to show him I wasn't fighting him. I only then became aware of the silence around us. I looked up, and saw everyone in the hallway had stopped to watch Robbie Morrigan beat me up. Cool, popular Robbie turn into a psycho. Robbie looked around at everyone, watching their fearful expressions as he stared at them. His eyes flickered amongst them. It was as if they were all talking to him at once. He closed his eyes, clutching his head with both of his hands, his eyes scrunched together in pain; You'd think his head would fall apart if his hands weren't holding it together.

Maybe that's what loss does to you.

He snapped up, slammed his locker door and marched down the corridor, out of the main building.

As soon as that happened, and everyone began to shuffle along and continue with their day, my knees began to shake. I hadn't been assaulted like that in a long time. The occasional football to the head, or shoulder barge, sure, but never had my body denting lockers.

I snatched up my bag, and half-ran to the Media Labs. I could feel myself sweating, and no breath with bring oxygen to my head. I couldn't do this in public. I crashed through the door and began to pant, gasp, wheeze, puff. I grabbed onto the desk of computers to keep myself standing upright.

I was okay. This was just a panic attack. I just needed to calm down, and breathe…

I grabbed onto a computer to keep myself standing, only to see it spring to life, going straight to the Blackwell website. I took a step back in shock, falling into the large speakers, which rumbled deep static upon my touch. I crawled away from it in horror, bumping my head into the projector behind me, which turned on, playing a Hitchcock film. I let out a yelp, trying to run out, only to hit another computer, which activated, playing heavy, angry rock music.

I began to hyperventilate again. I couldn't breathe – it wasn't working, _I_ wasn't working! I grabbed my chest, feeling my heart thunder like a jackhammer against my bones. I fell back onto the table, unable to move or breathe or cry out in shock. I know it sounds melodramatic, or funny now, but then, I sincerely thought I was going to die.

That's when the door opened, and the person that stood there was the last person I'd want to see. But the first to make me feel a little less lonely.

 **A/N: Can everyone with an OC include an opinion of Maggie and Kenna?** **NOT** **Octavio.**

 **The OC included was Octavio Vargas from** _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too**_

 **Now, in a review, let me know what you think of…**

 **Maggie**

 **Octavio**

 **Robbie's Outburst**

 **Octavio's Power**

 **Anything I can improve on**

 **Thanks guys! Also, a lot of you are theorising Robbie's power. Well, that's no accident – I don't want you guys to fully know what it is yet. I have dropped several hints in the prologue, however.**

 **See you guys for the next Chapter,**

 **R**


	4. Chapter 2: Dynamic Bilingualism

**Hey guys! This was probably the hardest chapter to start – purely because of motivation; I'm kind of upset that a lot of people have left the story after I've said no to their characters. To everyone that does continue to read and review, despite me turning down your characters, thank you for understanding! There are still two slots open. I hope I get some more submissions – ideally, I'd like another boy and another girl,**

 **Now, onto the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy a very different vibe.**

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Haha, well he's definitely not a nerdy geek or a wannabe. That would make a good character though – and I'm not talking about Octavio – he's way too bitter to want to be a part of it… or is he?_

 _Maggie, she's a nosy one, yeah. She's always fun to write dialogue for, though. Octavio is a bit of a strange name – I actually asked the creator,_ _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too**_ _if I could change their name, but I liked the jokes I could make with 'Octavi-bro'. So it kind of stuck. As for your prediction about Kenna, that's an interesting one._

 _Well, don't forget – he actually did CPR on a dead girl. That's going to leave a lasting effect on you. I hope you enjoy more Kenna in this chapter to make up for the lack last chapter._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Thank you! The longest part was actually waiting for someone to send in a character that I felt was lacking – and that's the socially awkward Octavio. And I hope you're made up with this whole chapter from her perspective. She's probably the hardest person to narrate so far. I think it's because of her power. And you may see that in this chapter and chapter five._

 _Haha, Octavio isn't even part of the group right now. And I'm glad you picked up on that. Just know, that was fully intended to be in there. As for Octavio's power, you're getting warmer…_

 _Robbie's part yeah – that's very different to how everyone's seen him before. 'Quite famous and a bit of an asshole' – that's how many people describe popular kids in high school. But Robbie's not meant to be a hot-head like Nathan – he's just finding it difficult. As for his power, you're kind of on the right lines… kind of. You've really got to wait and see. And I picked up on that Jefferson/Jeffords typo. I'll rectify that at some point._

 _ **EclipseKuran –**_ _Well, you're just the sweetest! I hope you enjoyed seeing inside this head… in a purely non-psychopathic way._

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _You're friggin' awesome dude! Maggie's incredibly nosey. But she's a journalist. I hope you don't find her too annoying in this chapter… or you do – either one is a compliment on my characterisation tbh, as long as she's annoying for the right reasons._

 _It seems there's a running theme with Octavio's name. And yeah, panic attacks are awful – what makes it worse is that you can only just ride it out… imagine having everything around you malfunction while you're freaking out as well!_

 _We'll come to learn more about him. Especially in the next chapter, which I'll start writing tonight. It's planned out, so it shouldn't take too long. See, there's a distinct difference to how every student copes with their power, and we're going to see something that happens with Robbie that doesn't happen with anyone else next._

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Thank you! This one took about three/four hours to write? It's all about finding your rhythm and keeping in the zone. I prefer to listen to music that gets me in the vibe for the characters. For instance, with Robbie I listen to Circa Waves or the Kooks. With Octavio, it was more MGMT and Alt-J. With Maggie, I was listening to The 1975 and Fickle Friends._

 _Haha, how unfortunate for Maggie to be in the room with Kenna (you'll see why)._

 _Octavio was so fun to write! Going from a confident smartarse like Robbie to a socially awkward outsider was a great change of pace._

 _As you requested, more Kenna this chapter. A whole load more._

 **Maggie: Dynamic Bilingualism**

My room was easily distinguishable from the others at Blackwell. Whereas most girls had polaroid pictures of themselves and their friends, along with little mementos of nights out, I had sketches that I hung up next to my published articles in the _Totem_.

I tried to keep my articles so I could be up a portfolio. If you wanted to be a professional journalist, you had to start from a young age. That's what my dad always told me. And he was, without a measure beyond a doubt, one of the best journalists on the west coast.

And my mom… well, let's just say I shared her enthusiasm for working, according to my dad.

I lounged in my new, scarlet beanbag chair, my laptop balanced on my knees as I tapped away ferociously, the words flowing out of me naturally. I always hated redrafting for this reason – if I wrote something in my first draft, there was always a reason I wrote it… except for typos – those were the friggin' worst thing in the word. Especially when you don't catch them before publishing. Hence the redrafting in the Beanbag.

I sat there, looking at my article, over and over again. It was my _piece de resistance_. A feather in my cap. I had a list of potential headlines with my own sidenotes underneath:

 _Precott in Prison (NOTE: alliteration is old-hat)_

 _Murder in Blackwell Toilets (Simplicity is genius?)_

 _Student Murder in Arcadia Bay (Crap)_

I groaned in frustration, holding my forehead. The article was boring. It bored me. It should be used to aid insomniacs! I was missing an angle – a unique perspective on it. Every paper in Oregon and on the West Coast would be talking about this, and unless I found an original view, how could I compete with them?

Of course, a few would defend the daddy's boy, Nathan. I mean, he's white and from a wealthy background, so the media cared – saying he was the real victim. Of course, since Chloe Price was the daughter of a security guard and a diner owner, so the Prescotts were monopolising the portrayal of their deranged, psychotic son.

I was a part of the Vortex club, sure, but I never talked to Nathan. Now, Nathan had always been a little bit… deranged. He was always jittery, on edge – it was like he had ADhD or something (Well, he was popping pills quite often). That was, when he wasn't around Robbie Burghley. The two of them were inseparable – Robbie was louder, more boisterous, and a lot cockier than Nathan ever was. He didn't try to be, though. I mean, he did… but Nathan on the other hand… he was always clawing to stay on top of social food chain – always reminding us of who his father was. Not to defend him – lots of students go through things, but none of us ever brought a gun into school.

That was when I came to the solution – if I was going to write this article, I needed to get inside Robbie's head. I needed to know what happened in that bathroom, why Nathan didn't shoot himself in the head (that would've made for a better ending), and why Maxine Caulfield was in there too. I had a choice here – I could either ask Robbie or Max first.

I bit my lip in thought; Robbie was closer to Nathan Prescott than anyone else in the world. And he was definitely in the bathroom. So, if anyone knew why Nathan did what he did, it was Robbie. Then again, I was pretty sure he felt a strong sense of animosity towards me after I published the article on Rachel Amber's death.

Max, on the other hand, was a lot less hostile than Robbie was, and would probably be more likely to talk to me. After all, I'd never seen her with Chloe Price, and she definitely wasn't a friend of Nathan. However, that meant she probably only knew what went on – not why. A good article had the What, the When, the Where, the How and, if nothing else, certainly the Why.

But, Max did have a habit of knowing things. Don't ask me how, but she was the one who told me about Rachel Amber's death. And about the part that Nathan Prescott played in it. I still had a hard time understanding it. Why did Nathan take to Mr. Jefferson? And Rachel Amber was a model – why would Nathan drug her to take pictures of her? Why wouldn't she do it willingly? Was it some twisted 'then they wouldn't be truly vulnerable' and the whole 'capturing the human condition' crap that Jefferson kept spouting in his class? I didn't know – I guess I'd have to be equally as twisted to understand it.

I guess Max Caulfield would be the way to go.

As I stood up, I tied back my hair in a bun. I was always awful with my hair – it could never really look neat, no matter how much I tried. I just needed it out my way when I was busy – I didn't have time to deal with it time and time again.

I walked over to my window to close it, but found something there – a small marmalade cat hopped up onto the windowsill. I took a step back, watching it carefully. It's murky green eyes glared up at me cautiously as it's body crept up. I froze, staring at it hiss at me. My first thought was whether I'd get into trouble for having a cat in my dorm… Actually, that's a lie. My first thought was just pure and unimaginable joy at having a cat in my room. The second was the one about trouble.

That's when the cat began to stop hissing, and cocked it's head to the side, no longer glaring at me. Instead, it just stared – as if it was examining me out of sheer curiosity. I held out a hand, about a foot away from it's face as I edged closer.

"It's alright, baby," I spoke gently – animals can pick up on your vibe, you know, "aren't you beautiful?"

The cat purred in response, stretching it's neck out to me and sniffing my hand.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you, sweetie…"

The cat then brushed it's rough, wet nose against my fingers, moving it's head around under my palm. She was smaller than most cats I'd seen, with her head being covered by most of my palm. I wondered if I could go to the kitchen and get some milk in a saucer, or whether the cat would leave.

The cat pounced up onto my beanbag, lying down there. I couldn't stop myself smiling.

"You're staying then?" The cat kneaded into the beanbag, "Fine, I'll get you your milk." The cat stretched out, clearly making itself comfortable.

I went out of my room, walking down the hallway, where Victoria, our resident Queen Bitch was talking to her 'slave', Taylor. It would have been sickening to hear someone speak like that, but Victoria's treatment of Taylor meant she'd be more than willing to divulge some of Victoria's deepest and darkest secrets. That'd be useful for when Victoria needed to be taken down a peg or two.

As I came into the Vending Room, I took out my purse, and put in a dollar for a carton of milk.

"Hey, Maggie," I turned around to see Kenna Lancaster standing there, looking stunning as always, "you don't have change for a five, do you?"

There was something about Kenna. Not something as in a romantic something, or a creepy something, it wasn't even a bad something. It was just… she had a habit of talking directly to you, cutting through the pretences and bullcrap that you try and pull. She wasn't a bad person, or even a mean person, she was just… direct. She paid attention to everything. It takes an observer to spot an observer.

But she was an unusual observer – No, not unusual. _I_ was unusual because I was in the Vortex Club, not to mention that I drew attention to myself with articles and interviews. Kenna, on the other hand, had to actively deflect the attention away from her. Even after leaving the Vortex Club so recently, she was still heralded as the most beautiful girl in school;

She had a face like a diamond, feline iceberg eyes, and waves of thick blonde hair that hung loosely behind her ears. She looked as if she'd had a stylist work on her for hours, when she'd probably just woken up. It would've made all the girls hate her if she wasn't so lovely to everyone, always inquiring about us, our families, how our studies are going – she knew all of our hobbies.

No-one was that nice.

"Sure, here you go," I smiled, handing her the change. She smiled – that smile, so perfectly white, her teeth so perfectly straight – it was a perfect, perfect smile. I couldn't help but feel inadequate next to her – I was half a foot taller, had freckles and my hair was too thin and boring old brown. Next to a girl like Kenna, I couldn't help but feel inadequate. This $20 shirt was a waste after all…

"Oh – thanks - You look lovely today, Maggie," Kenna took the change, handing me the note, "is that a new shirt?"  
"Oh… yeah it is," I shook my head.

"It's awesome! Where did you get it from?"  
"I… erm, I… I can't remember…"

"Well, we'll go shopping sometime, yeah?"  
"Yeah, sure, I'd love to," I smiled.

I picked my milk up from the vending machine. I had to think about a cat's name... but almost all of them seemed kind of clichéd.

"Hey, do you know a good name for a pet?" I asked Kenna. Miss Perfect probably had the perfect name for a cat.

"Well… in _Breakfast at Tiffany's_ , Audrey Hepburn calls her cat 'Cat'."

Damn. Of course she'd reference Audrey Hepburn. I nodded.

"That's great, thanks," I turned to walk away from her, only to hear that she hadn't finished the conversation.

"Of course, we're not allowed to keep pets on Campus," She raised an eyebrow. "Even cute ginger cats."

I turned around, utterly perplexed. How could she know that? Had she seen me open the door?

"Have you been in my room?"  
"You're holding milk and asking about pet names," Kenna raised an eyebrow, as if it was obvious. I would've believed her, if I wasn't an observer too.

"Ginger," I raised an eyebrow back at her, "you said ginger cat. How would you know it's ginger?"

Kenna opened her mouth. Then she closed it. I felt like laughing out loud – I'd won! A warm feeling spread through my body – it was my fix. Like getting the latest, juiciest gossip.

"You- you said-"

"No I didn't, how did you know?"

Kenna paused, biting her lip. Then I saw her eyes stop moving – as if she'd suddenly seen an idea. I didn't like that.

"Can you keep a secret?" She asked.

"What, me? Of course!"  
"I'm serious, Maggie," she said, taking a step towards me, "if I tell you this, you can't breathe a word. Not to anyone…" her eyes fixed onto mine. It was obviously big gossip, and I felt an urge – a pull to it. But… she wasn't smiling like she had a secret boyfriend. No, she was deadly serious. If something was this serious… well, I'd try to keep it secret. Which is the best I could do.

"Good enough, I guess…" Kenna sighed, then took the carton from me, "Let's go see Cat."

I followed Kenna as if I was in a trance, down the hallways of girls. Many of them beaming at Kenna as she passed, as Kenna replied with all the 'your hair looks gorgeous' and 'I listened to that _Virgins_ album – thank you _so_ much for lending me it! You're the best's.

Eventually, we came to my room. Kenna walked in first, taking my empty glass and pouring the carton of milk in there. She held it out towards the cat, which stood up, it's body contorting upwards as Kenna came closer to it. Kenna froze, looking over at me. I leant down, scratching the cat's ears.

"She's a friend, Cat," I smiled, looking at the cat. It took several long, slow blinks at me before looking back to Kenna. I smiled, as if to say ' _it's okay, go ahead. She won't hurt you. She's got some milk_.'

Immediately, Cat hopped down from the beanbag, and began to circle Kenna's leg until she put down the glass of milk, which Cat began to lap up. She was adorable – the cutest cat ever.

"She _is_ adorable…" Kenna muttered. She sat down in my chair, examining me with narrowing eyes, as if she was trying to read something far away, "It's weird that she listens to you."  
"Weird?"  
"I mean, it's not the _weirdest_ thing to happen all week, but it's like she listens to everything you say."

"Is that unheard of?" I asked, taking my seat in the beanbag. I immediately felt ungraceful and awkward next to the petite and gorgeous Kenna, "Wait, you said you were going to tell me a secret."  
"Oh, right. My secret…" Kenna leant forwards, examining me with furrowed brows, the iceberg in her eyes hardening into a steely blue. She was obviously concentrating very hard. Like she was trying to read far-off writing again- "I am trying to read," Kenna interrupted my thoughts, "it's harder though."

That was freaky. I immediately froze completely, not fully aware of what was happening here. It was like joining in on a tv show half-way through the season.

"Did you just… can you hear-"

"Hearing thoughts is the hard part," Kenna said, eventually leaning backwards, rubbing her eyes, "it's generally just… feeling things."

"Feeling things?" I got that feeling again – being on-edge. Like something bad was going to happen. I looked down to see Cat had stopped lapping up her milk, watching Kenna intently, and moving around to my side.

"You don't have any reason to worry," Kenna assured me, "I don't go inside anyone's heads when I can help it. It's just… I'm getting used to it-"

"So, wait…" I rubbed my temples, "you can… what, hear my thoughts?"  
"It's not… okay – it's like… Watching a TV show," Kenna began to explain, "No, imagine watching a play. And, then, you're one of the characters. And you know everything that they're feeling and seeing-"

"Everything?" I raised an eyebrow. That was… well, I didn't like the idea of someone having an open invitation to my head when they lived down the hall from me.

"Please," Kenna rolled her eyes, "We live in the same building as a bunch of teenage boys – your thoughts are nowhere near as bad as you think they are," she smiled, like when you're trying to make someone feel better, but you're just making it worse, "Come on, you're not the only one who thinks about-"

"Please just stop talking," I implored her. Kenna smiled.

"Okay… I'm just going to say, I think he's cute too."  
"Shut up."

"Anyway," Kenna said, looking back to Cat, "that's what I was talking about."  
"What do you mean?" I looked down to Cat, who began to brush her nose against my ankle.

"You tell her I'm a friend, and she has no problem getting close to me. As soon as you start to… what, suspect me? She immediately leaves me."  
"Cats aren't unintelligent-" I stroked Cat's tail, "They can pick up on things-"

"Like I can," Kenna nodded. "But when does a cat ever do what you want them to do?"

I stopped smiling at Cat and raised an eyebrow.

"You think I can talk to cats?"  
"No, anyone can talk to cats. But I think that cats listen to you," She smiled, and stood up, "I think it's time we see how far we can go with these. What do you say?"

My mind began to race with possibilities, though I had to stop myself, as I remembered who I was in the room with.

"You promise to stay out my head?"

"Scout's honour," Kenna gave the three-fingered salute as we set out to see how far our 'powers' truly extended.

And that was the first person I ever met in the whole world who was like me.

 **Well, there's Maggie's first chapter. To everyone who's still along for the ride, thank you so much! Please leave a review – it means the world to me – detailing:**

 **Maggie as a main character**

 **Kenna (now we've properly seen a bit of her)**

 **Theories about future chapters**

 **Scenes you'd like to see**

 **Possible Pairings (Romantic or Platonic)**

 **And of course, the obligatory 'anything you didn't like and why' comment.**


	5. Chapter 3: Anxiolytic Response

**Hey everyone! Another update! I have an interview for a lil' summer job next week, so I'm trying to get the bulk of story planning done ASAP, but I need more characters!**

 **Now then, onto the reviews…**

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Damn… I should probably not update as much, huh? And thank you – I kinda wish I spent more time on it to be honest – I didn't have anything specific planned this chapter apart from it being Maggie's, so I just kinda… let it run free._

 _Yeah – she's quite similar to Kenna in that respect._

 _Max isn't much of a character in this story. I can confirm that she will make an appearance, but that's not for a while._

 _Haha – I mean… a dorm full of boys… the most beautiful girl around… something's bound to happen, right? As for the irony – I'm glad you picked up on that. We'll be examining that in more detail soon. Don't think I've forgotten about Kenna – it's just that her POV hasn't come up in the storyline yet. Expect it in… chapter Five?... Chapter Five._

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _Haha, that's what I get for not re-drafting. But as Maggie said, if there's something typed there, it's there for a reason. I personally don't like cats – there's only one I ever actually liked. I'm massively a dog person._

 _We'll be seeing more of Kenna soon, and then we'll know for sure. I've also messaged you about Forest._

 _Ah, okay – let me know as soon as you can._

 _Evan Trails – Thank you so much! I could've sworn I'd messaged you already! I'm so sorry, I'll do that straight away! A thousand apologies._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Haha, I'm glad I can bring about a bit o' happiness._

 _Haha, yes, the power was a hard point to figure out. I think I kinda made it work though? Let me know if you'd pictured it differently. As for Robbie and Maggie – Maggie assumes he hates her. I love my unreliable narrators. He's definitely not fond of her, but he's not fond of anyone right now._

 _Ah, yes, Max. Well, I can confirm that is the case. Purely because Max is not the focus of this story. In this story, Max has travelled back to the day where Chloe was shot, and chose not to intervene, however, she still has knowledge of the five days (?) she spent with Chloe. Because of this, and her promise to Chloe to get Rachel justice, it only makes sense she'd tell Maggie. But, Max will make an appearance in the story a couple of times – it'll be more of a guest appearance, though._

 _Kenna's such a sweetheart. Though, we'll be seeing a different side to her at some point, I'm sure. And that's an interesting comparison to Rachel Amber there. But, alas, there was nothing too special. You'll have to wait and see for a certain chapter… to learn more about Rachel._

 _Ooh, looks like you were wrong about that one. Sadly, this is the last update I can do until I accept another OC. As for Canon characters, I generally want to steer clear of them (apart from the odd cameo), purely because of who this story is about. And there's only so much I can write. But Max will make an appearance in this story._

 _As for pairings – Maggie and Octavio have a cute little friendship, though it's pretty one-sided at times. The whole thing with Dana won't go anywhere – I can promise you that._

 _Meh – I'm counting that as a win!_

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _Haha, thank you! That means so much! And I guess it happens – at least I know that the people that stayed are genuinely interested in the story, at least._

 _Maggie's a cutiepie. She's fun to write dialogue for, but incredibly difficult to start narrating. Once I get into the swing of it, everything's fine, but I have to listen to some music and imagine her first._

 _Fair enough – just send those pairings in over the next couple of chapters – the earlier I get them, the more likely I am to do them._

 _ **EclipseKuran**_ _ **–**_ _Thanks so much! I don't know, I guess that they aren't the people I want following my stories after all. And you are way too kind!_

 _Maggie's the first narrated character that we've seen have her own goals and ambitions._

 _You should be a little more optimistic – Kenna is perfectly capable of being a lovely person… I'll admit, it doesn't usually turn out that way, but it's perfectly possible!_

 _Thrilling theories._

 _Oh, I've got a couple of them planned out… Well, one._

 _Your wish is my command!_

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _haha, awkward noodle… No, Kenna is not just a re-skin of Rachel Amber, don't you worry._

 _Being in a room with Kenna is kinda difficult. And I'm glad you picked up on how it affects Kenna though._

 _Ooh, not yet! Kenna's chapter is coming soon though, I promise!_

 _No problem – there'll be plenty of that, don't worry. And I'm itching to write Octavio again…_

 _Seems most people haven't made up their minds about people yet… which is fair. I guess I spend most of my time thinking about these characters, so it's different for me._

 _As for making a career – snap! I'm studying Creative Writing at university – in my last year now…_

 **Robbie: Anxiolytic Response**

Chloe Price was never a nice girl. Well, she might've been at some point. For the past year or so, she'd been a headache. I'd never liked her much. But I guess I'd never really known her… I hadn't been able to sleep since that day. When I was trying to breathe life into a dead girl. And when I'd seen my best friend really just fall apart.

All because I wasn't there to help him.

I'd fully intended to attend the funeral. I'd pulled out my suit, tried to smooth down my hair, and managed to make it all the way to the entrance of the Cemetary. I was later than everyone, though. Every step I took was weighted, as if gravity itself was willing me away from Chloe.

I knew I'd played a part in her death. Maybe I wasn't solely responsible, but if I'd told Nathan to come and meet me, he wouldn't have run into Chloe and shot her. It was Chaos Theory. I set into motion a chain of events that ended solely in death.

That wasn't the only reason though. Cemeteries were full of death. And given Rachel's… if I thought about it, it was real. If I talked about it, it was real. And I just wasn't ready to let go of Rachel. Not so soon after losing Nathan.

Off in the distance, I could see everyone gathered around a coffin. I could see Madsen, the security guard, with his arm around a sobbing woman – Mrs. Price, no doubt.

How could I even take a step into the cemetery? What was I meant to say to her? How do I even start to word an apology big enough to make up for a fraction of her daughter's death? It was just… I knew that any apology I'd give would be a small consolation, but I couldn't talk about it yet. I hadn't slept in days. I still couldn't wear my jacket after the police returned it from evidence. The blood was cleaned off, but not enough. Not enough for me.

So, I sat on the stone opposite, and started rolling a spliff. Smoking tended to help my brain stagnate – and I didn't need to be thinking right now. I took a few tokes, trying to dull my mind enough to the point where I'd either pass out or be able to walk over to her coffin.

Sadly, I was interrupted by my jangling guitar ringtone.

"Hello?" I asked, not hiding my frustration at the disruption.

"Robert." I stopped completely – I hadn't heard anything from him since Nathan's imprisonment. I paused, dropping the spliff onto the floor in sheer shock.

"Sean…"

"You're not busy right now, are you?" The voice was firm, and straight to the point.

"I…" I took a breath, "Actually, I'm about to go to a funeral. Can I call you back?"  
"No, you can't," I looked to the right, and saw a sleek, glossy limousine stretch up, the back of it stopping directly beside me. I hung my head, knowing exactly who the man was, with his light brown hair combed to the side, a large, boxed chin, and those golden-brown designer glasses that he wore high on the bridge of his nose. He stared through them at me blankly, like he was waiting for me to speak.

"I'm a bit busy-"

"We both know you're not going to the funeral of the girl Robbie, so why don't you just get in the car?"

I sighed, lolling my head, and jumped up off the rock, walking around and climbing into the other side of the limousine. I slumped into the back, rubbing my forehead as I looked around. I reached for the decanter of scotch, only to have it snatched away from me by Sean, and replaced with a tumbler with a double measure.

"Have you spoken to anyone?"  
"About Nathan?" I shook my head. "No, no-one."

"Good," he filled himself a glass, "the last thing we need is some reporter talking to one of the students and pulling out some story. Now, what happened?"

"He… when I went into the bathroom, Chloe was already dead…"  
"And you tried to resuscitate her, correct?"  
"Yeah…"  
"And Nathan?"

"He didn't mean to kill her. He cooperated, and gave me the gun."

He took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his sore nose. His face was red, with deep pock marks around his plump cheeks. His broad, heavy jaw was lined with dark stubble, but there was a striking resemblance to Nathan, in his worn and tired eyes that were the same blue, His thinning hair was the same honey brown tone.

"Well, that's something at least…" He took a sip of his tumbler "God only knows what was going through that boy's head…"

I bit my lip, considering whether I should tell Sean what had happened. What I had seen and heard and felt in that bathroom… I felt like if anyone would understand, it'd be Sean.

"That boy… he just… he always puts himself first…"  
"Nathan never put himself first. You did-"

"We're Prescotts," Sean interrupted, "Businessmen. Alpha dogs. Both of us," He glanced at me, smoothing back his hair, "I wouldn't expect you to understand."  
"Gee, thanks Sean…" I muttered, taking a sip of scotch.

"Hey," Sean put a hand on my shoulder, leaning in, "every Alpha needs a Beta. Just like a ship captain needs a crew. One without the other is useless. Besides," he leant back, swilling his scotch, "you wouldn't like being an Alpha. No room to make mistakes, no time to relax… Every eye is on you. There'd be no sneaking off to graffiti Arcadia Bay for you…"

I looked up at Sean, utterly amazed. Well, no, not utterly amazed – fairly amazed, certainly. He knew everything, of course he did, he was Sean Prescott – the corporate bogey man of Arcadia Bay. I didn't make a secret of my artistic side, though I was starting to grow out of it – I hadn't done it for months now; Madsen had been closing in on me. Sean looked at me, a little bit surprised at my surprise.

"What, you thought I didn't know?" He shook his head, "Everyone needs a hobby. And I don't mean something constructive or… whatever you want to call it. You just need something pure and simple and fun that's completely… irrelevant. It's purpose is to be meaningless."

"Like _The Prescott Foundation_?" I grinned, taking a sip of the Scotch again. Sean gently slapped my shoulder with a smile.

"Don't be smart," He sighed, "Look, all I'm saying is that if you put everyone else first, you come last; You put Nathan first growing up, and he took advantage."

"He's your son, I'm not," I responded, staring out of the window – the spliff was definitely working, so I had to try and keep a handle on myself, "Besides, are you sure you weren't just pulling him out in front of me-"  
"He's a Prescott," Sean cut me off as if I had not been speaking, "a damaged Prescott; the runt of the litter, maybe, but he's still a Prescott." He turned away from me, straightening his jacket, "Nathan demanded more attention than you… and you let him take it."

"As you said, he's the Prescott," I began to roll a cigarette, "Besides, Sean, he's like my brother. I love him-"

Sean cut me off with a chuckle as he turned to look out of the window and roll his eyes in a 'here-we-go-again' manner.

"There's the love argument again…"  
"He loves me too Sean. You know we've always been close."

"Oh, yes, as close as Romulus and Remus…" He grinned.

And therein lay the problem with Sean. Everything was business. Everything was win or lose. Even affection – it was a competition between me and Nathan. It was fine for me – Sean wasn't my father, and I didn't expect any love. But for Nathan… I could only imagine.

"Jesus Christ, Sean," I was unable to hold back my anger at how callous he was. I was the only one in the car that had been kind to Nathan! And there he was, throwing it right back in my face... "That's your son that you're talking about-"

"I'm well aware of who Nathan is…"

I sighed, unable to think straight with everything that was going on in my head. I stopped, realising my sudden outburst. It wasn't like me… in fact it was like Sean. Was the same thing happening again?

"Sean, when I walked into that bathroom," I paused, trying to think about how to phrase it without sounding like I was on the verge of… well, of doing what Nathan did, "When I was talking to Nathan, I could feel everything he was feeling, it was like… it was like I was him."

That pause seemed to hang on forever. Sean glanced over to me, as if he had misheard me, or if he had been on the phone, and I'd simply asked him the time.

"What do you mean, you were him?"

"I… I heard him saying things… but in my head, not out loud… I saw images of people…"

"Robert," Sean relaxed his face, as he did in those rare, tender moments. I'd only seen this side of him a handful of moments, when my dad told me he'd make it to my twelfth birthday, and never turned up, or when I waited all day on my fifteenth mother's day to see my mother, only to get a call for five minutes from Berlin. Sean may have been a bad man, but he could be a good father. At least, he tried to be. "What you went through… it was traumatic. Having side effects like this… they need to be handled."  
"No, it's," I could only laugh at how I sounded – if I was him, I'd think I was crazy, "it's not PTSD or… anything traumatic. I think…" I held my face in my hands and took a steadying breath before finishing, "I think I ca- I think I can read minds."

Sean just stared at me, his mouth half-open for a moment. He looked towards the driver, whose eyes were fixed on me. With a nervous smile (and an equally nervous chuckle), he clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Niall, can we have the screen up for a moment?"

The reflective, jet-black divider whirred up. As it clicked into place, Sean let out another small chuckle.

"You think you have telepathy? Why don't you go have a chat with the board members over at _Lancaster Co._? Only a bloody psychic can get through to those cretins…"

"It's not actual telepathy…" I began to explain, "it's more just feeling what they feel-"

"Wait, you're serious?" He coughed on his scotch. "Look, see a doctor, get a prescription – see a therapist," we pulled up outside Blackwell Academy, "Just, don't go screaming your head off about this, okay? I need this _Lancaster_ _Co._ deal to go through-"

"This isn't about you, Sean!" I finally snapped, unable to cope with his constant business talk. "Look, I'm going through something and for some reason, I feel like you're the only one here who's going to get it-"

"Why on earth would I 'get' that you think you can read minds?" Sean asked, incredulously, no longer seeming to care whether Niall heard us or not.

"Because!" I argued, trying to find the words. In the end, it came out as little more than a murmur, "You're my Godfather…"

Sean rubbed his eyes before placing his glasses back on. He took out his wallet, and began to thumb through notes.

"Go see a doctor. Or a therapist. Or buy some more weed, I don't know," he placed it in the pocket of my jacket, "just don't smoke it in public. And make sure the therapist is a quiet one." He paused, waiting to see if there was anything else he wouldn't risk saying over the phone. I got out of the car as he continued. "Don't talk to anyone until after the hearing. Just… be a teenager for a bit… You know, I'm here to help out if you need me to… I know none of this has been easy for you…"

I got another injection of him. And that's when I realised how he saw me. I was a little boy, or a stray dog he threw cash at out of some sense of responsibility. It was like I was a burden, a chore, that was passed onto him. And out of his head, I heard one thought in particular…

 _Tommy's a damned fool for leaving the boy here…_

"I don't want your pity…" I shook my head at Sean, and sloped off to my dorms. I'd do exactly what Sean had told me to do – I'd spend my money on weed. And alcohol. And anything else I could find. I took out my phone, calling Victoria.

"Hey, Victoria? It's Robbie."  
"Hey! Robbie! I was just-"

"End of the World is still happening right?"  
"Vortex party? Yeah, sure-"

"Good," I started to count the cash, "Let's make it one to remember."

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'd like another female OC as well as another male one. I've received two incredibly interesting OCs, and will decide on which one I want over the next couple of days.**

 **Again:**

 **Thoughts on Robbie**

 **Portrayal of Sean Prescott**

 **Scenes you'd like to see**

 **Any fan theories**

 **The End of the World party**

 **Who your favourite main OC is so far**


	6. Chapter 4: Social Cataclysm

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for the kind words. I found it really hard picking another main character, as there turned out to be three amazing OCs. None of these characters were bad – they were just too similar to characters already in the story. The following Main is an OC we haven't seen before.**

 **It gives me a lot of pain, but a lot of joy, to introduce you all to Warner Monger, from** _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313**_ **.**

 **So, there is only one slot left – which is reserved for a female. I may be in need of minor characters later in the story, so still message me with a character – if they aren't picked for a main, they may still appear in the story. I've still got a need for minor characters. Now, when I say minor, I mean that they're not gonna have a perspective in the chapter. They're definitely going to play a big part, just not a main one.**

 **Another note – please follow, favourite, or review. It's kind of annoying when there's people being very insistent about me picking their OC, but they've not supported this story at all. I mean, it's kind of suck-y. You guys are better than that.**

 **This is a small little chapter to introduce Warner.**

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _I'm glad! I'm also an unreliable narrator. Remember that comment though – it'll be important in a couple of chapters._

 _Yeah, as I said before, something happens to Robbie that doesn't happen to anyone else – he actually reaches out during this confusion period of his life, and doesn't really get any help at all. As for his power, hehe, you're on the right lines. His power is kinda... well, you'll see a hint in the next chapter, and I'll properly show what it is in chapter seven. I like the idea of projection a lot, but that's not it._

 _I mean… I guess we'll see. Kate's been on the DL lately. As has Max._

 _Haha, itching for some more Maggie, huh? There's a sprinkle of her in here…_

 _Well, there wouldn't be much of a chapter if no-one went there, would there? And Victoria will survive…_

 _Octavi-bro… Whattaguy. #awkwardnoodle._

 _ **Evan Trails –**_ _Yeah – I had to base him off the titbits of info in the story. Plus, let's just say there's a few CEOs in the family. Hope you enjoy this lil' bit of the party._

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Haha, I know what you mean. I know this update isn't that long, but it's mainly because not much is meant to happen at this party. It's more about introducing Warner, and following on Kenna and Octavio._

 _Haha, it does look that way... I'll address this in the next chapter._

 _Those are good words for Sean._

 _Haha, I don't think that'd happen – he's still gonna look out for Nathan first._

 _Haha, fingers crossed!_

 _ **EclipseKuran –**_ _And you are such a cutie! I take that as a massive compliment, so it's fine!_

 _Well, all characters have some good and some bad in them. Apart from Kenna. She's amazing._

 _That's exactly what Sean is._

 _Fluffy scenes are on their way – I've already planned out one really good one you'll love. It'll be up next week at this rate. We're still in the discovery stage._

 _Of course it was a disaster… for anyone but Robbie._

 _I mean… I'm not even a cat person, and Cat's awesome._

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _Why thank you, kind sir!_

 _I mean, it seems like Sean doesn't talk with Robbie often. This story is only set over the span of two weeks or so, as well, so we won't be able to see Sean do anything. I just felt that, even if it's not followed up on, going to Sean shows a lot about Robbie as a character._

 _Glad to hear that!_

 _I should've included Pickle Rick! Or Tiny Rick! Tiny Rick's awesome… Yes – of course I'm a Rick and Morty fan; I spend hours thinking about how each power works and what the limits and evolutions of them are, and how they impact the other characters. Here's a lil hint: Kenna has an effect on Warner, who Chloe has had an effect on, who Rachel has had an effect on._

 _Get your head around that, and let's get Schwifty!_

 **Warner: Social Cataclysm**

The music from the gymnasium blared loudly throughout the night. Of course it did – the Vortex Club were made up of rich kids and trust-fund babies – given how Papa Prescott was a co-owner of Blackwell Academy, it was no surprise that the Vortex Club had alcohol, weed, and there was no teacher around brave enough to interfere with their extracurricular activities.

It took a lot of convincing, but I managed to persuade Octavio to leave his humungous headphones at the dorm. Tonight, I was teaching him how to socialise like a regular walking, talking human being.

"I… I don't think I should be going to one of these…" Octavio began to rub his elbow, "I'm… I'm not good at parties…"

"Yo," I groaned turning around to him, "You have got this _power_ , dude! It's time with live it up!" I held out a fist, waiting for him to bump it. He didn't, so I stopped smiling, and widened my eyes, "Yo, you going to stay an Octavi-no all your life?" Eventually, he rolled his eyes, and gently tapped his fist into mine. I grinned, wrapping an arm around him and dragging him through campus. "Now, that's what I'm talking about Oxy…"

We came closer to the gymnasium. I removed my arm from Octavio, and began to high-five the other Bigfoots.

"Yo, Justin, Derrick… this is Oxy. He's my boy."  
"What, Octavi-dildo?" Justin sniggered.

"Yo, Justin," I took a step towards him, "why don't you go fuck yourself-"

"Woah, chill out bro," Derrick came between Justin and I, "it's cool. Justin's just drunk, you know?"  
"I know what an asshole drunks can be…" I growled, my eyes fixed on Justin. It riled me up, guys that got drunk, and let it change them… let them become jerks. It enraged me…

"H-hey, Warner?" I turned around to see Octavio with his shoulders pushed up to his ears, his hands stuffed into his jeans, "Can we just…" he leant towards the doors to the gymnasium. I ground my teeth for a moment, then turned back to Justin.

"Get the fuck out of here…"

I climbed up the stairs, joining Octavio as I breathed deeply. I'd learnt at a young age that if I felt I was in a situation where I may get angry, the best thing I could do would be to remove myself from that situation. However, I wasn't that great at actually… removing myself. I much preferred to remove the other person that antagonised me.

I marched into the gymnasium with Octavio, standing in front of the pool with him.

"Oh God…" Octavio let out in a strangled noise, turning to walk away.

"No, no bro," I grabbed him, holding him in place, "Listen, tonight is the first night of the rest of your life. No more… lurking in hallways, no more watching from afar. Now, you're a virgin, right?"  
"I- What?"

"You're a virgin. As in, you ain't had sex."  
"That's- what? I don't- that's personal-"

"And that's a yes," I grinned, "it's cool man, ain't nothing wrong with that. But we'll change that."  
"What? No, I don't want-"

"Oxy, aren't you sick of standing on the sidelines? Don't you want to have some friends here? Look, what's the point of having these powers if we can't have fun with them?"  
"Yeah- you haven't actually told me what your… ability is-"

"My power?" I shrugged, "I can fly."

Octavio's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious? Like, what, do you control air currents? Manipulate your bone density? Or is it like… vibrating atoms enough, that the energy-" He paused looking at the wide, toothy grin plastered across my face. "Oh. You're kidding."  
"Yup," I said, biting back the laughter. "Look, see that girl?" I pointed over at the tall, leggy blonde in a bikini, "That's Taylor-"

"I-I know her… she's… she's in my class- photography-"

"Awesome, offer to take a picture of her," I smiled, clapping him on the back and walking over to Taylor and her friend, Courtney. "Yo, Tay, Courtney, this is my buddy, Oxy."

"Oxy? Like the animal?"  
"Like the pill. This guy's a treat," I grinned. "Yo, Courtney, let's go get a drink," I walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and strolling away with her, against all of Octavio's garbled protests.

"Were you just trying to get me on my own?" Courtney raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… but not in the way you think," I smiled, "So, Courtney, I didn't see you earlier…"  
"Where?"  
"At Chloe's funeral."  
"Oh… yeah… do we have to talk about that? It's a party-"

I glanced back over to see Octavio scratching his head, awkwardly, as shorter, more muscular boy, wrapped his arms around Taylor, whispering in her ear. His hair was wet and pushed backwards, but the fair, speck-less skin, the small scar on the eyebrow, the unmistakable confidence and swagger to each step. Robbie had walked over, and clearly dominated the conversation.

Robbie wasn't a bad guy. Not from what I knew. But, then again, I didn't know much. We had similar standing around Blackwell – I was the best goddamned athlete at Blackwell, and he was definitely the best party boy. Now, I wasn't exactly one for parties – I tended to leave with a black eye, a bloody nose or a cop's hand on my shoulder. And Principal Wells had said – any more 'encounters' with local law enforcement would result in me losing my scholarship, which meant bye-bye Blackwell, and hello flipping burgers.

Nothing wrong with flipping burgers. It just ain't for me.

I saw Robbie swagger off with Taylor in tow, and left Courtney to go back to a nervous-looking Ocavio.

"Hey man, what happened?"  
"I… Robbie Morrigan came over and he…" Octavio shook his head, "He said something about a dip…"  
"Not important," I shook my head, "You know what happens when a linebacker takes me down in a game?"  
"…You get back up?"  
"Wrong! I never go down," I grinned, "But if I did, I'd get back up and beat his ass. You feel me?" 

I paused, scratching my head.

"You want me to… beat his ass?"  
"No, man, we'll find another girl…" I looked around, noticing a familiar sight – the last person I would ever expect to see at a party… apart from Octavio, of course. "You met Kenna before?"  
"Makenna Lancaster? No, I- I don't think we'd get on…"  
"Why not? She's hot, you've got that little-stray-puppy look to you that girls go in for – what's the problem?"  
"I… what do I say?" 

I lost all patience at this point, and grabbed his wrist, dragging him along the side of the pool.

"How about something that isn't a stutter or a choke?" I turned to Kenna, tapping her on the shoulder. Christ, how does someone get that beautiful… "Kenna! Awesome to see you!"

"Erm… hey Warner. I didn't expect to see you at something like this…"  
"I know – it's a pretty dope party, huh?"  
"Yeah- Yeah!" She got into the spirit more.

"So, what are you doing here? I thought you were done with Vortex?"  
"After what happened to Kate Marsh? The video and everything? Yeah, I'm done."  
"Ey, I hear you…"

"What about you? I didn't think you left your little hideaway for anything apart from a game?"  
"Got to take care of my boy," I turned around to gesture to Octavio, only to find he wasn't there anymore. For a second, I thought he'd bailed, but then I saw he'd slunk off with the taller Maggie Fournier. She looked fine, no argument, with her slender frame, curves in the right places – I couldn't help but let my gaze linger on her for a second…

Octavio was taking his sweet time. Maybe Maggie wasn't interested in him – but maybe she was. I folded my little and ring ringer into my palm, and then gently turned my wrist, and sent Maggie into the pool.

She landed in the water with a yelp, and Octavio looked over to me, utterly puzzled. My grin went wider as it became obvious what I was going to do.

"Don't you-"

I moved my fingers slightly, and saw Octavio fall into the pool head-first. Numerous people started to follow suit and jump in, partying with lidos and their bottles. I grinned, my eyes resting on Maggie and Octavio for a moment. Well, if he didn't go for it…

"Hey!"

I turned around to see Kenna raising an eyebrow. Damn, she looked good when she was angry…

"What?"  
"Do you mind?" 

I'm willing to admit, what I did next, probably wasn't the best thing to do. But, you've got to understand – Kenna Lancaster would make hell look like the ice age. She was in a bikini, revealing her bronzed skin, tiny frame (but not tiny _everywhere_ ), and I could see where her bikini was becoming slightly… loose…

"Not at all," I took a swig from the bottle of vodka I had on me. And then it was in the water.

I got a smack in the side of the face.

And when I say smack, I mean a punch that knocked me into the pool.

I began to tread water, looking up at her, in utter disbelief of what had just happened. Kenna crouched down, staring directly at me, while everyone watched on in total silence, with the only music being some house rave tune. In the distance, I could hear a single person clapping, followed by Robbie Morrigan's drunken laughs. I kept my eyes fixed on Kenna, ready to shout at her. I'd known her for a year – I knew enough to make sure she never thought about hitting me again…

"I know why you're acting like this," she spoke lowly, so no-one around us could hear, "I know what you're going through. But this isn't you. You know you're better than this," Kenna straightened up. It was strange – that look she gave me. It was rare to see a look like that – one that truly understood you. I hadn't seen someone give me a look like that or be brave enough to hit me in years.

"And if you look at me like that again, I'll finish the job!"

Silence hung in the air. I was ready to punch a hole through the wall, ready to rip someone apart, but with a look from Kenna… that anger was gone. There was no rage, no anguish… instead, I just wanted to leave. I just wanted to go home to my RV, roll myself in my blankets and think about Chloe. Just lay there…

Robbie ambled over in fits of laughter, a sloppy arm falling around Kenna's shoulder.

"Oh, thank you so much," he grinned, taking out his lighter to ignite the joint between his lips, "it's not a party until someone gets a smack…"

It was like watching a movie inside my head. Without a word, I climbed out of the pool. I didn't even think, I just… did. Void of emotion. Incapable of using my own legs, as they were already busy walking. I was on autopilot…

"Robbie, maybe you should chill out a bit…"

"Don't be a sober Sally, Kenna," Robbie slurred incessantly, "be a boozy Suzie!"

"Come on Robbie, I think you should take it easy-" Kenna reached out for the spliff in his hand.

"I don't," He staggered back, away from her.

"Why not?"  
"Because!" Robbie descended into his fits of giggles once more.

I'm not sure when exactly I left the party. Or how long I walked, but I distinctly remember arriving home at my RV, which I'd parked off the highway that ran through the woods. I walked past my make-shift garden, opened the door to my RV and stepped inside. It was only when I was peeling off my sopping t-shirt that I realised what had happened.

The bitch had fucking slapped me?!

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this little instalment. I decided to upload it because why the hell not? Also, I've had quite a bit of wine while writing, so apologies if there's any glaring errors I've overlooked. Let me know about:**

 **Warner & his power**

 **Robbie**

 **Octavio**

 **Kenna**

 **Maggie**

 **Favourite Power (shown so far)**

 **Anything else you want to throw into your review**


	7. Chapter 5: Exemplary Diematic Behaviour

**Hey guys! I'm glad to see you guys enjoyed the last chapter! It was very short chapter, so I want to make up for it with this one. About 3000 words, enjoy this meaty update.**

 **Also, thank you to everyone who's followed and favourited. I've received a bunch of applications, and they're all brilliant! Really, they're awesome guys! I've not seen one that I've disliked. You guys are really imaginative when it comes to powers also…**

 **One last slot left, but I'll be needing a couple of minor roles. When I say 'minor', I mean they'll appear in the story for a handful of chapters at most, but I won't put any less effort into their characterisation. They're just not going to be in the story from start to finish.**

 **Now, onto the reviews – it means the world when someone leaves a review – really, it just brightens my day!**

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _Thank you so much! I wouldn't say Robbie's the biggest… probably needs it the most, though._

 _Warner does know about Octavio's power. Octavio's been kinda quiet, so we'll see him very soon. #AwkwardNoodle_

 _Oh yeah, Kenna's a badass._

 _Haha, remember, unreliable narrators… I guess you'd have to ask Maggie._

 _And Maggie's power is pretty cool… But I'm a guy, so I'd want to control fire or something completely useless like that._

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _I really wanted a jock as a Main – since we haven't had one yet. And we'll go into his background with drunks at some point, I'm sure… I think what Warner was against, was people using being drunk as an excuse. And I can confirm that it's_ _ **Telekinesis**_ _._

 _Well, Robbie's self-medicating right now. That's why he comes off as a very big party-goer._

 _Haha, I can tell you that they've only been friends for a couple of days. They're not even really friends, actually… it's the start of a bromance._

 _Haha, I told you we'd see another side to Kenna. Enjoy her chapter!_

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Yup, as soon as I get her, I'm introducing her._

 _Yup – that's Warner in a nutshell. And actually, Octavio hasn't told him. Warner learnt that Octavio had a power when Octavio did._

 _Yeah, Octavi-bro is still around. We'll see more of him next chapter though. Well, he's not coming out of his shell, Warner is kinda dragging him out of it kicking and screaming. I can confirm that they just met._

 _And you're a sharp one – you've made a few spot-on predictions… Yeah, the whole 'auto-pilot' is linked to Kenna's power. I told you she was a sweetheart…_

 _Oh, yeah – she had a swimsuit on, but she also was wearing her sandals, shorts, a shirt… but Octavi-bro was wearing Octavi-clothes unfortunately._

 _Many people are gravitating to Maggie's power. It's pretty fun, I'd imagine._

 _Haha, you're welcome! Enjoy this longer chapter!_

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _Oh yeah! Also, Rick and Morty, season 3 is on Netflix UK – booyah! Warner's going through stuff – just like Robbie is and just like Chloe did._

 _Haha, Robbie's just being Robbie._

 _Haha, Octavio's awesome. He's one of my favourites to write as. It's his chapter next!_

 _Kenna: Badass. That is all._

 _Maggie's got more of a role in this one._

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Dude, this review is long… I love it!_

 _Chapter 3:_

 _Yeah… I'm messed up, cos it's only gonna get worse for him. But I'll give him a reprieve first. Well, I wanted to show different reactions to the powers. And Sean's a douchebag._

 _Chapter 4:_

 _I can't divulge anything. Except in_ _ **Chapter Nine**_ _, someone will definitely call Octavio an awkward noodle. The bromance between Warner and Octavio is an interesting friendship. Polar opposites. Robbie was_ _ **definitely high**_ _. And drunk. Octavi-bro's the definition of awkward, I love it. Here's Kenna's POV! Octavio sometimes writes for the Blackwell Totem, with Maggie. She's one of the few people our guy Oxy is comfortable talking to so… make of that what you will._

 _Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

 _ **EclipseKuran –**_ _I had two glasses of wine, finished that chapter, then went straight to sleep. It was bliss… Also, no large temple or large statue is ever unnecessary… Just make sure it's solid gold. Not platinum –_ _ **that**_ _would be unnecessary._

 _Of course Warren's a dick. So's Robbie. So's Maggie at times. Funnily enough, 'Dick' is actually Robbie's favourite insult._

 _Well, while Nathan is a big reason why Robbie's mourning, it's not just him. Remember Rachel Amber? Just remember that…_

 _Octavio's so adorable. He just gets in his own way. Say what you will about Warner, but I think Octavio needs someone to force him to interact with other people._

 _Kenna's the badass of the story. You know she does martial arts? She's pretty damn awesome at it too… Been doing it since she was a kid._

 _Next chapter, you'll see Octavio's power. Now, enjoy this chapter I wrote sober._

 _ **Luigi the Dusk –**_ _Haha, thank you!_

 _I understand what you are saying, but I'm establishing the initial equilibrium (people are discovering their powers). Only then can I introduce the inciting incident, which threatens the equilibrium. We'll see that soon._

 _And personally, I like to have the characters lead the plot. Though I'm gonna have to use a bit of a trope to propel this story. The storyline isn't going to be that amazing on it's own, so that's what the characters are there for._

 _No offence taken – I hope you enjoy the chapter! Thanks for your review!_

 **Kenna: Exemplary Deimatic Behaviour**

It'd been a week since I'd found out about my power, and it was still hard to control. There was constant practice living at Blackwell – I could shut out conscious thoughts easily. Even more easily, I could not only feel what other people felt, but I could actually follow their feelings, as if I was tracing a road on a map, and find out the cause of that feeling. Thoughts of people, places, images – it was very easy to find.

But the hard part of my power was other people. Walking everywhere, feeling every pang of self-doubt, every insecurity that people had… it was exhausting. My compliments were a small consolation, but when I walked past someone having a panic attack… it was the worst thing ever. I couldn't just walk past and ignore it – it was like it was happening to me. If I could stop it, that was reason enough for me to intervene.

Maggie, however, had a totally different view on my power.

"It's amazing!" She practically squealed when I told her why people were on the bus with us, "it's like… it's like-"

"I can read minds?"

"Oh, ha ha, how droll…" Maggie said monotonously.

"Seriously though, we can't abuse this," I said, dropping my smile, "I'm not meant to see inside people's heads, and you're not meant to…"  
"Talk to cats?"  
"Alright, so maybe you can do whatever with your power, but I only want to use it to help people-"

"Right, so you can help me write-"

"I'm not snooping in people's heads for information. Anyway, would that be a credible source?"  
"Details," Maggie shook her head, "Look, I'm going to talk to Max, and you can just… tell me if she's lying."

I wasn't sure about this – not one bit. Max was a nice, sweet girl. I didn't want to peak inside her head – I didn't consciously want to do it with anyone, but she hadn't spoken to anyone. The only time she'd left her dorm had been for the funeral. If she wasn't speaking to anyone, how could anyone help?

We got off the bus outside the Two Whales Diner. It was a throwback from the fifties, when Diners were social hubs. In Arcadia Bay, there were only three places you'd find anyone our age apart from school: The Abandoned Mill by the railway tracks was where all the burned-out delinquents went for their illegal gigs and raves, then there was the Bean Hip Café, where the local writers, artists and musicians went. Lastly, there was the most popular place – the Two Whales Diner. So named because of the blue metal whale that sat above the diner, and it's counterpart which sat above the gas station opposite.

It was a lovely place – bright white and pale blue, with long, stretching windows that the sunlight dazzled in through. That was the one thing I loved most about Arcadia Bay – how sunny it got after a storm.

The outside of the Diner was not as clean as you'd think – dents were heavy in the walls, some of the paint was starting to fade from the storm, and a couple of small graffitied stencils of birds were on the outside. It was artistic, and the fact it was stencilled told me enough about who had done it…

Maggie and I walked into the diner. It's no surprise it was popular – one of the only places in Arcadia Bay open twenty-four hours a day. Opening the small metal door was like opening a portal to the fifties. A long counter sat opposite the booths that lined the walls. The smell of burnt coffee, the sound of clanging silverware. For once, being in a place where people were either so grateful for coffee and food, or so happy to be spending time with their friends, it felt amazingly refreshing. Plus, feeling crowds of people having their first sip of coffee in the morning really woke me up. Or it made me how aware of being tired I was- they were?

I shook my head. I wasn't making any sense. It was getting harder to tell which thoughts and feelings were my own.

"I need some coffee…" I told Maggie, making my way towards the counter, and sitting down. Maggie joined me, as we looked around for someone who was working. Maggie picked up a menu and began to scan it. "I don't see Max anywhere… she's probably still in her dorm."  
"She's definitely not, I knocked three times this morning…" Maggie bit her lip in thought.

At the end of the bar, I saw one of the waitresses (the lovely Joyce) walk past the collection of muffins, doughnuts, biscuits and cake, carrying a large plate of a fried breakfast, plunking it down in front of no-one other than Robbie Morrigan. I couldn't hold back my grin – he looked a mess, curled up against the window, a pair of bug-eyed sunglass shoved over his eyes as he held a large cup of coffee in one hand, and his head in the other.

I nudged Maggie, jerking my head over to Robbie. Maggie broke into a gradual smile.

"Well, it's no surprise – he was really going for it last night, wasn't he?"  
"That's Robbie for you," I explained, "he hasn't been that bad since Rachel Amber first went missing…" I couldn't help but get my head around this – Nathan Prescott had given Rachel an overdose – that was how the story went. The only thing is, from when I was in the Vortex club, Nathan had adored Rachel – like everyone else. And Robbie… he and Rachel spent a lot of time together. They were definitely friends – at least. I know Robbie cared a hell of a lot about her, but… what with the part Nathan played, I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head right now…

"Are you trying to do your…" Maggie held her fingers up to her head and hummed. I glared at her.

"I'm not a… psychic Maggie."  
"Aren't you?" She raised an eyebrow. "You know, Max isn't here, but there is one other person I could talk to about my article…" 

I didn't even need my power to know where she was going with this.

"No! No way, Maggie…"

"What? I'm just-"

"Joyce is here – Joyce Price! We are not talking about her daughter here, in front of everyone – in front of her-"

"We're just talking to him," Maggie protested, "Look, we're just making sure he's okay, that's all."

I rolled my eyes.

"I could not believe you less…"

"Look at it this way, I need you there to make sure I don't go too far."

I knew she was trying to coerce me into looking in Robbie's head, but she still raised a valid point. Besides, the day that Chloe died, I had seen Robbie. The way that he was looking at everyone… like something was happening to him. That could have been just seeing Chloe and Nathan, but what if it was something more?

By the time I came out of my own thoughts, I saw Maggie was already sliding into the shiny red booth, sitting opposite Robbie. I groaned and followed.

"Hey Robbie," Maggie smiled, opening the blinds of the window. Robbie groaned in pain, and I had to make a conscious effort not to feel the excitement brimming inside of Maggie.

"Maggie," Robbie croaked, pouring sugar into his coffee.

"How's the eggs?"  
"I don't know, am I on the record?" Robbie grabbed his head in pain, wincing.

"You alright?" I asked. He shook his head, his eyes widening.

"Migrains… it feels like my head's about to split in half…"

I zipped open my bag and pulled out a small box of aspirin. I slid two pills across. When I first got my powers, I had suffered from the headaches – worse ones than the hangovers I sustained from the Vortex parties. If the aspirin helped with those headaches, they'd help with a hangover.

"Help yourself," I picked up a menu, and began to look through the selections.

"So, Robbie," Maggie smiled, the pure glee emanating off her again, "I heard that you were in the bathroom." Robbie took a sip of water before answering.

"…That's juicy gossip. You should write an article on it."

"Oh, I intend to. I just wanted to know why you and Nathan were in the girl's toilets."

There was a noticeable change in Robbie. He went from being curt and monotonous to acting like we weren't even there. He ate a forkful of scrambled eggs and began to cut into the bacon rashers.

"No smartass comment? Why were you and Nathan in there? What, were you planning a prank? Or just a pair of perverts?"  
"Why? Is Xena the Warrior Princess going to kick my arse too?" He turned to glance at me before continuing eating.

"Depends on your answer," I responded, flicking my eyes up from the menu.

"It must be so hard to read the menu when you're all the way up there on your high horse," Robbie leant forwards, having a sip of his coffee and turning his entire body towards me, "Seriously, how does it look from up there?"  
"It looks like you're still an ass," I replied. Robbie let out a small chuckle.

"Now you're just trying to charm me…"

An unusually smiley Joyce came over to take our orders. I asked for some avocadoes and toast, while Maggie asked for a croissant. We waited until Joyce left to continue our conversation.

"You know that video of Kate Marsh is ruining her life?"  
"No it's not," Robbie scoffed, "she's just getting off with a couple of guys. What's the big deal?"

"She was drunk, Robbie-"

"-Or drugged-" Maggie chimed in.

"And you and your friends just filmed her instead of helping her."

"I think you mean _our_ friends, Kenna," Robbie said between mouthfuls of food, "we were both there that night. I didn't film her, and neither did you."

"And I feel terrible!"  
"Why? The video's pretty tame. I mean, it's the people that are ruining her life, not the video."

"Oh really?" Maggie raised an eyebrow, "How would you like it if… if there was a sex tape of you on the internet?"  
"There is," Robbie replied calmly, picking up his coffee again, "I'm surprised that you of all people haven't seen it."

I let myself smile for a second. Robbie was an ass, and he was cocky as hell, but he was quick. I remember how impossibly hard it was to annoy him when we used to hang out last year. The amount of times I'd end up giving him a shove or a gentle slap (much more gentle than the one I gave to Warner Monger last night) was staggering. It was always just pure frustration – there was no way of riling him up.

"Enjoying the show, Kenna?" Robbie asked me. I immediately dropped the smile.

"You can be a real son of a bitch sometimes…" I replied, trying to look and sound as cold as possible.

"That's not fair; you've never met my mother," Robbie took another bite of toast, "she's actually quite lovely."

There was just no getting under his skin. Not unless I brought up his family. Even then, no-one knew enough about them to say anything. But he never spoke about them, so there had to be some issue there.

Of course, it turned out there was one way to push Robbie's buttons.

"You were going there to meet Nathan, weren't you?" Maggie asked.

Robbie's eyes darted towards her frantically. Bingo – that was why. I hadn't seen Maggie in her 'interview mode' before, but I had to hand it to her – she was ruthless. Robbie chewed his food, his eyes fixed on Maggie for a moment.

"Sean says I'm not meant to talk about anything until the hearing," Robbie looked down at his food and continued eating.

"That's alright," Maggie smiled at me knowingly, "you don't need to say a word…"

I took a breath, staring at Robbie. Visuals helped me target my… whatever it was. It was harder than usual – like trying to open a locked door. I pushed further, trying to get a feel for any emotion…

Robbie let out a loud, strangled noise as he began to wince, holding his temples and leaning against the wall. He turned to me, eyes full of shock and horror.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" He asked incredulously.

That's when I heard it – it was a high-pitched whine that was jammed inside my ear, scraping against my ear-drum. Like static off a television, or when there's feedback off a microphone. It was the sonic equivalent of overexposure in a photograph.

I grabbed my ears in a desperate attempt to shut out the noise.

Joyce came over, holding the food. She took a look at me and Robbie and shook her head.

"You kids… don't drink so darn much next time, okay?"

It was when Joyce left. That's when I heard him. His voice, clear as day, only his mouth was still agape.

 _Is she reading my mind?_

"How would you know that?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Can you do it too?

Robbie turned to face Maggie the same time that I did – he must've heard the same thing.

' _Do it too?' Can he do something as well…?_

"What do you mean by 'something'?" Robbie asked her. She froze, looking at me in awe – a look I returned. I couldn't believe this. Robbie Morrigan? Of all the people in the world… Did he just read her mind? Was he one of us? Like Maggie and me?

"Us?" Robbie looked at Maggie, "You can… you hear… like me and Kenna?"  
"What the hell are you two talking about?"

Robbie began to clutch his head, looking around the diner, clamping his eyes shut. I recognized the look – I recognized the pain from when I first used my power. I felt how everyone in the dormitory had felt. Every break-up, every bout of food poisoning, every cramp, every punch that the boys gave each other… I nearly passed out.

"We need to get him out of here…" I told Maggie. I took out my purse, leaving a twenty for Joyce, and dragged Robbie outside of the diner. I needed to get him away from people – the beach was our best bet, no-one was there at this time of day.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" Robbie asked, stumbling behind me.

"Helping you," I replied. I refused to speak to him until we go to the sealine. I pushed him down onto the sand and began to pull off his jacket – wearing leather on a day like this wouldn't help with the hangover.

Maggie scratched her head, standing a metre away, and watching us with confusion.

"So, what exactly is happening?"  
"Robbie. He's… he's like me," I explained as I pulled the jacket off him.

"Like… he has a power too?"  
"Like he could hear your thoughts too," I put the coat down beside him.

"Wow. That's weird," Maggie scratched her head, "Do you reckon that had something to do with his… headache-breakdown-thing?"

"I don't know," I sighed, "I felt it too. It wasn't like a hangover though. It was like someone was hurting him. But no-one else feels like that when I… empathise with them."  
"Empathise?" Maggie raised an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean."

"No, fine – let's go with empathy," Maggie smiled. "So, why are we undressing a half-conscious on the beach?"

"When I first… you know… I nearly passed out from everything I felt. It was overwhelming. The further away he is, the harder it'll be to feel people. Maybe he won't go through what I went through."

Maggie held her elbow, awkwardly, as I took off my own jacket, then removed my sweater. I immediately felt Maggie's thoughts. I couldn't help it – I had to make sure Robbie didn't pass out. I was suddenly very conscious about my body. I felt as though I was too… I don't know. Inadequate.

I hastily grabbed my jacket and put it back on, buttoning it up. I did my best to avoid Maggie's stare as I kept my eyes fixed on Robbie. But Maggie's thoughts protested. I could feel her thoughts starting to wonder about me. The insecurities and self-consciousness began to seep into me, and it was getting harder to shrug them off.

We ended up sitting on the beach for a while. It was October, so it wasn't as pleasant as it could've been. I always used to come here when I was younger. That was years ago – when me and Robbie first met actually. We were really close back then. But, people drift apart.

Robbie knew me before I first started modelling- we met in school when we were fourteen. Nathan Prescott kept pulling my hair in class, so I turned around and hit him. I was given detention, and that's when I came across Robbie; our teacher overseeing detention had fallen asleep, and there was Robbie, with his lopsided smile and messy hair, writing ' _Prat_ ' on the teacher's forehead.

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't find him funny – there's a reason we hung out so much for four years. Robbie had a… interesting look on life. He was that dreamy kid staring out of class, and always seemed to smile. Then, as the years went on, he seemed to realise he was good-looking and smart – and then it went to his head.

Robbie's head began to loll. He looked over to me, grinned that childish, lopsided smile he so usually wore, and said, "Isn't this where we went skinny-dipping in summer?"

"Skinny-dipping?" I felt Maggie's pure glee froth up at the gossip. I could only groan at Robbie. He was definitely still an ass…

 **Sorry guys, had to upload this twice, as I forgot to add this little A/N down here! Let me know your thoughts on:**

 **Pairings (I know you guys have 'em – the amount of reviews about Octavio and Maggie is astounding)**

 **Whether you want to see big, power-oriented scenes like this, or more slow-paced scenes**

 **Thoughts on Kenna as a Narrator**

 **Whether you want to see what plays out in the main story (i.e. Kate Marsh) or things pertaining mainly around the OCs.**

 **Anything you liked in particular or didn't like, and why.**

 **Okay, now I'll upload this document again. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'll start writing the next chapter tonight.**

 **There's one Minor role I need in particular that involves a certain power… but talking about this character is going to give away a lot of the story. Instead, I'm going to ask a random question, and I want anyone that's interested in sending a minor OC to answer it in a PM:**

 **Why would someone destroy the world?**

 **Interpret that as freely as you want. There's no hidden context. No right or wrong answer, I just want to see what your response is, so I can gauge your perception.**

 **Anyway, stay lucky!**

 **R.**


	8. Chapter 6: Breaking Point

**Hey guys! Apologies for the absence – kinda needed a break from everything – writing can become a chore if you're not careful. However, I felt bad for not updating, and wanted to give you a good, lengthy update.**

 **I know I said that this would be an Octavio chapter, but I felt that it would be better served a little later in the story, and we haven't seen much of Warner, so I decided to put another one in here. I know this few chapters focus on Robbie a hell of a lot, but it's very relevant to the plot and the ending. Just… trust me. I'm trying not to make him the sole character, and I am aware he's in the spotlight a bit. It's just necessary for the moment.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy!**

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Well Maggie wrote an article, but not about that…_

 _Here's some more Warner! But we see a different side to him here… two, actually._

 _I can confirm that Kate's arc_ _ **will**_ _be featured in the story. Though, it won't play a major part in the story – it's more of a background event – a catalyst for another event._

 _ **EclipseKuran –**_ _Haha – it's a mixture of music and internal dialogue. Everyone has their own language and their different pasts shape how they see now. Take Warren for an example – there's a reason he's a lot more hot-headed and foul-mouthed than any other character._

 _Kenna's a sweetheart! It's nice to write as her – makes me hopeful._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _I hope this chapter brings you some more happiness. And I don't disagree – Robbie's rarely likeable. But, no-one stays the same…_

 _Yeah, Robbie and Kenna were very friends at one point – I think that's what you're picking up on, rather than there being a romance there. It's just natural chemistry – they click together fairly well because they balance out each other well._

 _Your theory on his power – very VERY close, but no cigar. I shall reveal all about his power in the next chapter. Well… not all, but you'll clearly see what it is. And I'll owe you an apology…_

 _I'm unsure what to do when it comes to whether Kate lives or dies… so much potential…_

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _Haha, I'm glad you found it! Welcome aboard!_

 _Maggie's funny. She's very… Goal-oriented._

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Strange… this site is weird._

 _What are these broships? We see a budding bromance in this one._

 _Kenna's definitely the best person to have that power. Without a doubt._

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _Well, very few people are always nice or always bad – most of us float around the spectrum with different people. That's clearly shown here._

 _Maggie and Warner? Well… sorry._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _Good morning!_

 _Thank you so much! I love hearing why these characters are so well liked. Maggie and Octavio are the fan favourites, it seems…_

 _Yeah – we'll see a bit more of that later on. I originally planned to address that in this chapter, but I want to see more about how everyone interacts with everyone first._

 _Warner's power is awesome! He's an… acquired taste. We get a little more insight into him in this chapter – I feel like I portray him a lot better here than in the other chapter._

 _Thank you for picking up on that! Yeah, we know she can hear these thoughts and emotions, but it's more than that – it'd be hard to tune them out to literally hear yourself think._

 _Robbie's… complex. He acts like a dick a hell of a lot of the time, but I wouldn't say he's a dick. Read this chapter, then let me know what you think about him. As for Robbie's power… we'll see next chapter_

 _Nathan's trial_ _ **won't**_ _be a part of this story. Well, it will, but we won't see the actual trial. This story will end before the court date. It's only about… two weeks or so? Roughly? Mr. Jefferson's trial also_ _ **won't**_ _be a part of this story._

 **Warner: Breaking Point**

My old man had never thought much of me when I was growing up. It's only natural – he was a fucking drunk. The only times you saw him sober enough to move was when it involved money or his next drink. That's why the prick got out of bed – just to go to the fridge for another bottle of liquor. He didn't care what it was either – moonshine was cheap, and that meant more for him with his monthly payments.

Before you say he was coping with stress from the atrocities of war or whatever – I've heard it before. There's nothing you can say to defend him that I haven't thought before. But I lost any hope of a relationship with him when I was eight. I didn't have any toys growing up, so I found my own. The remote for the TV, empty bottles, cardboard boxes… the last toy I had was my dad's straight-edge razor. I was crying on the floor, blood pouring from my cheek, calling out for my dad. And what did he do? He picked up the razor, put it away and then went back to watch the game.

I gave up on him long ago.

It taught me a valuable lesson – no-one is going to help you. You don't count on other people, because the fact is, most of them are cunts. Yeah, I don't use the word lightly – they are. When it comes down to it, all anyone ever cares about is themselves. So, you've got to put yourself first.

Octavio Vargas was always a quiet kid. I knew his brother, Zach. He was good on the field, and a fucking laugh to be around. But Octavio… well, the first time I noticed him, it was in the Media labs, with every computer and tv screen on the fritz. It didn't take me long to put two and two together. I'd got my powers a week before. I've got to say, they were fun. I didn't plan on being a superhero or stopping crime – that's what the cops are for.

No, my powers are just for me.

I was walking down the hallways of Blackwell with my mate, Alex. He was on the team too – and probably my closest mate. We were two sides of the same coin – if half the coin had been dipped in peroxide, and the other had been held in a fire. Alex was everything I wasn't – he was the typical golden boy – wore his white t-shirt that showed off his muscles, his perfectly straight blonde hair was cropped short, he loved writing and drawing – the girls always swooned from his way with words. Don't mistake him for a womanizer – he was too self-righteous for any of that. The only girl I only ever saw him with was Kenna Lancaster, and that's when they dated for a couple of months last year.

That's one thing I respected about him, to be honest. All of us were asking him for details, pictures – a video was requested, I remember. Alex just laughed it off and told us he wouldn't do that to her. One guy, who was in the year above us back then, called him a pussy for saying that. I knocked out a couple of his teeth and he didn't say anything again. No-one did. That's how me and Alex met.

"Hey man, Coach said we've got another practice today."  
"Another?" I rolled my eyes, "Jesus, what's wrong with him?"  
"He just wants us to be ready for the game. You know him – if it's not perfect, it's not good enough…"

"Oh, and you'd know all about perfect, wouldn't you Mr. Harper?" I gave him a shove. He just let out a laugh.

"I ain't that perfect…" He shook his head. "Hey, you've been hanging out with that guy lately… Erm... Vargas?"  
"Octavio," I nodded.

"That's it – Octavi-bro…" he let out a chuckle, "What's that about?"  
"What'd you mean? Is there a problem with that?"  
"Of course not," Alex shrugged, "he's a cool guy. He's done a few articles for the _Totem_." 

Oh, did I forget to mention? He's the Editor of the _Blackwell Totem_. Because of fucking course he is. We strolled down the hallways, going to his locker so he could get some books.

"But it's a bit random. I'm just interested in how that happened?"  
"Aw, is Alex Harper scared I might be getting a new friend?" I pouted. Alex shook his head with a laugh. "Nah, man, he just… I dunno, he's cool. He's going through some stuff lately." Alex started scribbling in his notebook absent-mindedly.

"Stuff?"  
"Yeah… stuff I've been through?"  
"What? You mean… like, family stuff?"  
"What? No- Fuck no! I mean… he's going through…"

"Hey, you don't need to tell me man – it's none of my business. I'm not prying – I'm just curious."

I let out a laugh. He was such a fucking golden boy. It was only then that we noticed that every student was carrying a copy of _The Blackwell Totem_.

"Something I'm missing?"

"What, you haven't read it today?"  
"No. Why, should I?"

Alex pulled a copy out of his locker and handed it to me. I flicked through a few pages and saw… an article. An article about Chloe Price. An article detailing how sorry everyone was that she had died. An article about how fucking tragic it was for us all to lose a friend.

"What the fuck is this?" I growled.

"Hey, Warner, chill out…"

"Oh yeah, everyone's so fucking upset! At least it gives us an excuse to flunk classes!" I shouted, not caring who saw me. I looked back down at the article, seeing the pen-name.

Maggie. Fucking. Fournier.

I strode down the corridor, searching for her. I was going through everything I'd say. If Maggie was such a fucking friend, why would she bring up her ' _Loving father, David Madsen_ '? Anyone who really knew Chloe knew that she had only ever had one dad, William.

I stamped down, seeing her at her locker.

"Fournier!" I bellowed. Everyone in the hall turned towards me, and Maggie's face was one of pure wonderment and terror. I pointed at her, her locker slamming closed. "I want a fucking word!"

"Warner, what's…?" She began to look around - probably looking for someone to cower behind. No luck. No one to look out for her.  
"Who the fuck do you think you are? Writing about Chloe? Writing about how upset we all are? You're a fucking liar!" I screamed at her, throwing the paper onto the floor. "What, is this part of your portfolio? I can't believe how fucking disgraceful you're being. Is this just another piece of your portfolio?"  
"No!" She said, eyes wide in shock, "N-no, I swear! It was tragic-"

I slammed my fist into the locker beside her, feeling it dent and crack around my fist.

"Stop saying it was fucking trag-"

I felt a hand tighten around my shoulder and pull me backwards. I stumbled, then saw the fucking Robbie Morrigan strut around and come between us.

"What's going on?"  
"Oh, piss off, Morrigan," I rolled my eyes, "Don't even get me started on you…"

"How about we all agree you're big and tough for shouting at the girl, mm-kay?" He nodded. That fucking accent – that fucking sarcasm.

"Why you getting involved?" I spat the words at him.

"Because the last time a guy shouted at a girl in this school, it didn't end badly."

I wanted to hit him. I tried not to – it took every part of me to not do it. So I just shoved him backwards, pointing a finger at him.

"You think that's fucking funny? How about what you were doing there?" There was stunned silence throughout the hall. "What? We all know it! You were there when your best buddy, Nathan, killed Chloe! What did you do? Sit there and watch? Cry because the rich boy's going to be someone's bitch?" I could see Robbie's fist clenching. Good. I wanted him to be angry as I was. I wanted him to feel everything I was feeling, and more. "Your best mate was a psycho killer. He killed Chloe, and he killed Rachel-"

I almost fell over from the sheer force of Robbie's fist. It connected into my nose, and I felt the crack. Blood sprayed over my shirt, and dripped onto the floor. I glared up at him, and that was it.

When I play football, I got a nickname. 'Warmonger'. A clever nickname, and a fitting one. I was a wild dog. Feral and unpredictable. Everyone feared me, and they should have. It didn't matter what anyone did to me – I could take the damage. What they didn't understand, was that I would never stop.

Never.

I launched myself through the air at him, as if I had been fired out of a catapult, flinging towards him. I tackled him to the floor, propelling punch after punch after punch into his face. What I didn't know, however, was that Robbie was a fighter too. I felt a jab in my groin, which left a sting, and in that second my grip loosened, he brought his head forwards, cracking my nose further. He managed to bring a foot up and kicked me off of him. I fell backwards, hitting my head on the floor. It didn't matter – it helped. All this pain just made me angrier, and made me want to hurt him even more.

I sprinted at him again, throwing a punch. Robbie took a step back, kicking my leg, but I mimicked him – I slammed my head into his chest. Robbie flew further than anyone would – I'd seen this before. When I tackled someone in a game. Octavio theorised something about my power acting as a force. I wasn't one for hypothesising – it happened, and that was the fact. No point in debating _why_.

As I was contemplating this, Robbie had gotten back to his feet, holding his chest. I grabbed him in a headlock, and began to pummel him in the stomach before grabbing his shirt and holding him against a locker as I began to beat him. Each punch was faster and harder. I wanted him to feel all the pain. He was a drunk, he didn't care about his son, he only cared about himself. How could he do that to me?

Robbie suddenly grabbed my arm and charged back, slamming my head against the lockers opposite. Octavio had suggested my powers act as armour – absorbing some of the impact of each blow I took on the field. This time, I felt everything. I felt blood seep back out of my head, my head started to spin like the tires of a motorcycle. I saw Robbie stumble back into a locker, only to be held there by Mr. Harris. I was grabbed my Alex, and pulled back, away from Robbie. Everyone was shouting, phones were out, more teachers came. But that didn't matter. All I focused on was Robbie. He was a cunt.

"This isn't over Morrigan…" I snarled at him.

"Go cry to your daddy!" Robbie replied.

There was a second where I realised what he had said, and Alex had to try even harder to hold me back, telling me over and over again 'he's not worth it' and 'cool man, chill'. I shook my head, screaming at him.

"Where's your daddy, huh? Where's your daddy, bitch?"

An hour later, we were both sat in the Principal's office. Robbie sat there, an old man in a suit sitting beside him. My own deadbeat dad sat next to me. He stank of what he'd been drinking.

"Thank you for coming in, Mr. Monger, Mr…"

"Galloway," the man sitting next to Robbie spoke, "Robert's attorney."

I couldn't help but scoff at this. Of course the rich kid would have a fucking attorney present. Robbie shot me a look.

"Problem, mongrel?"  
"You calling me retarded?"  
"No, I called you a dog, but maybe if the shoe fits-"

"Enough!" The Principal raised his voice. "I understand that tensions are high. A girl died here. From what the other students said, you had an issue with her obituary, Warner?"  
"Yeah, I have a fucking problem," I gripped the arm of the chair, "Maggie Fourner wasn't her friend! I was!"  
"And you didn't volunteer to write her obituary because…"  
"Because she wouldn't fucking want one-"

"Warner, you're here on a scholarship – do not make me rescind it." The principal growled at me. "Now, who threw the first punch?"

There was a silence as I glared over at Robbie.

"I did." Robbie admitted.

"Why?"  
"Because he shoved me."  
"Warner?"  
"He was making fun of me-"

"So you shoved him?"

"That's not how it happened-"

"Enough!" The Principal sat back in his chair, looking at us both in disbelief. "I've got to say… the Vortex Club and the Blackwell Bigfoots have always got on famously. I'm surprised you to find you two at odds…"  
"I ain't," My dad burped, "He's always been like this… haven't you boy?"

I gritted my teeth. If I responded, I wouldn't be able to hold back. And a fight in the principal's office would certainly get me expelled.

"What, not such a tough man because there's no one around to see?" My dad looked at the Principal. "This was his fault. Don't worry, we had trouble-makers in the army. I know how to fix this…" It was remarkable how often he could turn on the Sergeant's voice when he needed to. Anyone would think he was the perfect father. What a fucking joke.

"Now, the first thing to decide is what punishment to give out here. Both of you-"

"Excuse me, Principal," the attorney in a flash suit interrupted, "Robert was attacked."  
"He participated in a fight."  
"Do you know why?" The Principal looked between us. "Well, if you'd cared to talk to them, you'd know that Warner Monger was verbally assaulting Ms. Fournier."

I closed my eyes. They just didn't understand. They didn't understand anything! Maggie had shat on the memory of Chloe. Like all those kids that put wreaths and flowers by the bathroom. A way to help themselves sleep better at night.

"You fucking waste of space…" I heard my father mutter.

I noticed Robbie looking over at me, his eyes narrowed. It wasn't like he hated me, he was just looking at me. Like Kenna Lancaster did after she hit me into the pool. Like he was paying very close attention to me. His brow furrowed. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"Robert?" The principal looked at Robbie, "Do you intend on pressing charges?"

Robbie shook his head. We were all shocked at this – the Principal breathed easy while the attorney looked at Robbie in disbelief.

"Robert, surely-"

"He shoved me and I threw the first punch," Robbie sighed, "We both got a few hits in. He said some things, and so did I."  
"About what?" 

Robbie looked over to me. I hated what I'd said about Rachel Amber. She was a lovely person – even I knew that, and the only popular kid I actually liked was Alex Harper. Rachel was not a mean or selfish person. She didn't seem to be anyway. And everyone knew how close Robbie was with her. Fuck, I used to be so jealous of him, spending all that time with her. Everyone loved Rachel. How could you not?

I guess… well, I guess that him losing Rachel… Never mind. It was pointless now. I was going to be expelled. At least I could pack up my RV and leave.

"It doesn't matter," Robbie said finally, "it's in the past."

"As Principal, it's my duty to know-"

"It's no longer relevant," Robbie replied like he was the attorney, "it was an isolated incident. I assure you, it won't happen again. I'll take the same punishment that Warner does."

The Principal looked between us, aghast. If I was so pissed, and my face didn't hurt as much, I'd smile – he'd never expel Robbie – one of the faces of Blackwell Academy. The amount of money he'd lose… no way. Rich kids had different rules.

"You can leave," the Principal said eventually, "Mr. Monger, Mr. Galloway, if you could stay so we could discuss disciplinary actions?"

Dad gave me a final look.

"Come home tonight. We'll talk."

I wasn't worried. What more could he do? He already kicked me out.

Robbie and I stood outside for a second. Robbie began to pull on his jacket, taking the ice pack away from his eye.

"You didn't press charges? What, you expect me to thank you?" I blurted out, unable to bear the tension any longer. Robbie shook his head.

"No… Your dad's a dick – no offence."

"None taken."  
"So… I figured he'd be worse if I sued."

"Yeah… he's going to kick my head," I scoffed, "It's cool. I've got my own RV… Unless he torches it. Probably trying to teach me a lesson."

"You should feel lucky…" Robbie said. There was something different about him now – no sarcasm in his voice. He said it like a sad truth.

"Lucky?" I asked. "Are you fucking high? How is my dad burning down my place lucky?"

"Because he cares enough to be angry." Robbie muttered. "He might be a dick, and shouldn't be in your life, but he still cares," Robbie looked back at the closed door, as if he was deep in thought.

"What? Poor little rich kid is upset daddy doesn't care? Was it him or Prescott that sent the posh lawyer?" I scoffed – typical. Only he would whine about having a lawyer there.

"What, Arthur? He works for my dad. He's in Arcadia Bay because my dad expects this to happen…" Robbie muttered with a bitter chuckle, "My dad'll be annoyed he had to call his lawyer, sure, but that's as far as it'll go."

I stopped for a moment. I stopped hating him, and instead, I actually tried to listen to him. I can't say I'm fully sure why. It's like I was on autopilot again…

"Your dad always been like that?" I asked. I wanted to see what his relationship with his dad was like – it was only fair given the little show my dad had put on.

"Since I was a kid…" Robbie said, his voice void of any jibes or even any emotion. He was hollow – completely and utterly, "He couldn't wait to get rid of me."

"No," I shook my head, "he can't be worse than mine. You're like… you do well in class and you're popular – you're probably the apple of his eye." I chuckled at how cliché it all was.

"No… he doesn't want anything to do with me…" Robbie mumbled, picking up his bag.

"And why's that? You- you didn't like the taste of caviar or something? Kept having your shirt untucked? Too much wax in your hair?"

"Because my sister was picking me up from school when the car crashed."

There was a glimmer or emotion in his eyes. The glistened at the mention of his sister, his voice cracking as he spoke. He swallowed hard. It was only then that I realised it -

What I had felt at the death of my mother… at the death of Chloe… he'd lost the same.

"But… that's not your fault," I said slowly – how could anyone overlook this? "How could that be your fault?"  
"Try telling him that." Robbie shook his head, taking out a pre-rolled cigarette, "at the funeral… I may as well have killed her myself." Robbie shrugged, popping the cigarette in his mouth. "Who knows? Maybe I did…" He looked up at me. "See you tomorrow Warner," and with that, Robbie stood up, and left me standing there, alone and awaiting my father's wrath.

 **That's it! Let me know your thoughts on:**

 **Robbie's Past**

 **Warner and Robbie's temperamental relationship**

 **Was Maggie justified to write the obituary?**

 **Was Warner justified?**

 **Was Robbie justified?**

 **Who do you want to see more of? (Apart from Octavio – obviously)**

 **Which character do you like the least?**


	9. Chapter 7: Quantum Entanglement

**Hi guys! This is the next update, including our last main character,** _Hailey MacIntosh_ **by** _ **So hard to choose a username**_ **. The main spots are officially closed. Side characters will be featured, and every one that I accept will play a part. I've had to turn down so many characters, and it's truly awful.**

 **Also, I can't believe I forgot, but I also introduced our first Minor OC –** _Alex Harper_ **by** _ **WhiteReaper4**_ **in the last chapter so… here he is again!**

 **To Everyone I've turned down the OC's of:**

 _Hi all, R here._

 _I want to reiterate what I seem to have to say every single chapter –_ _ **your characters are not bad**_ _. Not in the slightest. I've not seen_ _ **anyone**_ _I dislike._ _ **They do not suck**_ _. They're_ _ **awesome**_ _! I'd love to fit them all in, but if I did, it would take time away from the_ _ **other**_ _characters, and_ _ **no-one**_ _would get the correct amount of characterisation._

 _I have to say, there are some people (not going to name any names) who have been quite upset, but who have also tried to verbally take that out on_ _ **me**_ _. I'm not even offended – it's laughable how aggressive some people will get over a_ _ **story**_ _._

 _I am, however, upset that some people have reacted like this – the communities on here are all_ _ **so**_ _ **amazing**_ _, and it's sad when you come across a few people who are quite self-centred… Now, if I've turned down your OC, and you don't want to continue reading the story, that sucks, but at least_ _ **I understand**_ _. However, if you're going to get angry over what is, at the end of the day, still_ _ **just a story**_ _, then I'm just not even going to bother responding._

 _The fact is, if you're just reading this story to hear about your own character, I don't want you reading – I want everyone here to engage with each other and swap theories and explain why they hate or like the characters and why. That's why I take hours going through reviews and responding to each review._

 _These characters are yours, but the_ _ **story**_ _is_ _ **mine**_ _ **.**_ _By reading the story, you are_ _ **not**_ _entitled to a slot here. You are not_ _ **owed**_ _anything by me. This is not a_ _ **deal**_ _. If I include your character, it's a different story, but otherwise, you are the_ _ **reader**_ _and I am the_ _ **writer**_ _._

 _This is_ _ **the last time**_ _I will mention it._

 _There are_ _ **no more main slots**_ _. Feel free to submit a_ _ **side**_ _character, and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can!_

 _ **Hopefully**_ _now everyone's got the message loud and clear._

 _R._

 **Thank you** **SO MUCH** **to everyone who's kept reviewing even when I turned down their characters – it means a hell of a lot. Especially when there are people who haven't reviewed and demanded I accept their characters. The above is only directed at a miniscule number of people.**

 **Now, we can get on with Review responses and the story…**

 _ **EclipseKuran –**_ _Thank you so much! It's quite challenging at times, but it's all about being in the right headspace and getting into the flow of it._

 _Yup. I don't want to go too deep into his backstory. I just want to say what's relevant in the story._

 _I love that phrase "Broken understanding". They're very similar, and so it's no surprise how antagonistic they can be._

 _Here's some more Robbie. Only a few more chapters of it centring around him._

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _My mistake – I was running on fumes when I was writing last chapter – so many typos…_

 _I think that's why they aren't best friends._

 _True, but do you think Warner would've been happy with it then?_

 _Ooh, Robbie and Warner? It seems that Robbie and Maggie is a favourite or least favourite… Octavio is just everyone's sweetheart._

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _Relationship counselling would be an amazing chapter…_

 _We'll see more of Maggie soon._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Yeah… I didn't actually plan this chapter – I kinda just wanted Warner to be in school, and kinda ran with it…_

 _It's not so much the death of his sister – he was very young. However, his father has treated him. And I like that you said that – he's still a bit of a dick, but he has a reason to be… I don't know if I fully agree with that, but fair enough._

 _Well, I think it was the heat of the moment, but also, they bond over their fathers. They're the two characters who have the worst backgrounds, I'd say. So it's funny that people either love them or hate them…_

 _Oh, of course he did. But, remember, Chloe didn't think so. Even if she did, she'd never admit it to anyone. So, of course Warner would think differently of David._

 _Well, Robbie knows now that Maggie has a power like Kenna and him – of course he's going to side with her._

 _Haha – nice catch. Yes, I can confirm that what Robbie has been using lately_ _ **has been**_ _ **Kenna's Power**_ _. I also lied to you a few chapters back… I have to apologise. Read on, and you'll see what I mean._

 _No such luck just yet I'm afraid – you'll be seeing a bit of them next chapter though! As for the main character, read on!_

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _He's definitely in the world... he'll play his part in a few chapters. I think it's no. 12 when he comes into play?_

 _How so?_

 _Haha, well, out of all the characters I'd say they act on their feelings most. The only other person who is quite reckless is Kenna, and that's only on occasion._

 _ **iamgoku –**_ _I'm glad you're enjoying it! Talking about abilities – enjoy this chapter._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _Yup. Everyone's complex. As for Robbie – this is pretty much the giveaway chapter to what his power_ _actually_ _is. I won't be going into too much detail about the accident and his father – Robbie's had 9 years to deal with this, so he's come to terms with it for the most part – there's still a bit of lingering resentment…_

 _Well, that's the question, isn't it?_

 **Robbie: Quantum Entanglement**

Everyone toasted, clinking their glasses together as we everyone began to walk around the long, stretching fields of the Prescott estate. A long, white tent had been pitched in the garden, next to the stone lions that sat at the four corners of the pool. It was unusually hot for an October Sunday, and Sean had made sure to invite everyone – CEOs, reporters, socialites. The whole affair was quite sophisticated – an evening soiree. A gala. All of this for me.

Well, that was the excuse anyway; I was turning 18, and so Sean had decided that everyone who was anyone had to be present. I had to have connections in place for when I left Blackwell next year. I was quite repulsed by it – only 'suitable' students from Blackwell were invited. Which meant, about seven students I knew, and one that I actually liked.

"Happy birthday, Robbie," I looked up to see the golden boy approach me – Alex Harper. He was a member of the Vortex Club. I wouldn't say I disliked him, but I wouldn't call him a friend. He was a tad too… wholesome for me, "Finally eighteen?"  
"Aren't you about… two weeks older?"

"Well," Alex shrugged, "still older." I grinned as he slapped my arm, "I wanted to say… you and Warner…"

"It's fine," I held up a hand.

"No man… listen, it wasn't his fault – you know he just loses control sometimes-"

"Alex, it's fine," I re-assured him, "I don't regret fighting him, but I don't regret resolving him either."

Alex took a sip of his beer.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could help me, Robbie," Alex reached into his jacket pocket, producing a small, black moleskin, "I heard this riddle the other day, and I'm trying to decipher it…" 

I took the notebook, narrowing my eyes to decipher the writing.

"The… coastal town… will be … something into…"  
" _The Coastal Town shall be engulfed by itself, Swallowed in an uncontrollable rage, Defended or Destroyed, the Wolf shall not remain._ "

I frowned.

"Coastal town as in…"  
"It's a riddle, Robbie. My history teacher gave it to me. It's weird, right? I'm usually really good at these sorts of things…"  
"Well," I bit my lip, "engulfed by itself could mean it's, like, industrialisation? Maybe it's population taking over? And the whole 'wolf' part is… I don't know, the culture…?"

"Maybe…" Alex bit his lip again – it was a look I did when I was deep in thought – I recognized it well. I shook my head – trust the golden boy Alex Harper to bring homework to a party, "Thanks for your help, anyhow."

Alex held out a hand for me to shake, but as I reached out, another hand turned me around. I found myself looking at the familiar sight of Kristine. Her dyed chestnut hair was pushed back past her shoulders, and her wide blue eyes made her look gorgeous, always as if she was in bewilderment. She was cloaked in a simple red dress, which matched the slight sunburn on her shoulders, which began to peel.

"Robbie! Happy birthday!" She pulled me into a hug.

"Kristine," I forced a smile, "How was Brazil?"

"I'll see you later Robbie," Alex said, walking away.

"Brazil was amazing! We helped so many people there…" Her eyes swelled up with self-righteousness. She'd been away helping with the Peace Corps, because apparently her brother could take care of himself… Or he just wasn't worth the time of a saint like her. "I have your present," Kristine held out a glass of scotch she'd clearly taken from the bar, with two large cubes of ice in there – a cardinal sin.

"Erm… thank you?" I took it, not entirely sure about the ice. Kristine smiled, and moved my wrist, so the glass was pressed against my eye. I would've smiled if it had been anyone else.

"So, did someone here give you _that_ birthday present?" I shook my head.

"You should see the other guy…" I mumbled, taking a sip of the scotch – far too diluted.

"We never have been good with loss, have we Robbie?" Kristine sighed as we began to pace along the length of the tent, "Natasha first, then Rachel went missing… then that poor girl, Chloe… now Nate's in jail and it turns out that Rachel's…" I stopped walking, needing to drink more scotch – I definitely could not handle this sober. Besides, finishing the scotch would give me an excuse to leave Kristine. "How are you doing, Robbie?"  
"I'm fine," I answered immediately, trying to locate the closest waiter. After a moment, I turned back to a smirking Kristine.

"You always were a terrible liar," Kristine smiled sadly.

"And you were a terrible sister" I growled through gritted teeth. I immediately picked up on her feelings of offense. It kept me from shouting at her. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, "you didn't deserve that…"  
"Of course I did," Kristine said simply, her eyes trained on mine, "Nate needed me, and I wasn't there for him. Not enough, anyway…" I took another glass of scotch from a waiter, "it's only natural to be angry, Robbie."  
"I'm not angry," I said, swallowing a measure of Scotch, "I just feel like putting my fist through something…" I gasped in some air – the burn of scotch at the back of my throat was good – pain felt good. I was feeling something – it was my catharsis.

"Or through someone…" Kristine raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a point to this?"  
"You shouldn't be fighting, Robbie. Rachel's dead, Nate's gone… you should be grieving-"

I looked up to see the one person here who was actually capable of knowing how I felt – Kenna Lancaster arrived with a much ( _much_ ) older man. She was wrapped in a beautiful eggshell-white dress, with embossed floral designs. The dress ended an inch or two below her knees, and she looked angelic. Her hair curled and shining and she was utterly dazzling. Beautiful. There weren't enough words to describe how she looked.

Fuck, she's telepathic as well.

"Excuse me, I've seen a friend," I walked over to Kenna, looking at the unfamiliar guest, waiting for Kenna to introduce us.

"Oh! Right, Robbie, this is one of our stock brokers, Andrew Schneider. Andrew, this is Robert Morrigan."  
"Of course, the man of the hour," Andrew shook my hand. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Thomas Morrigan, would you?"  
"Yes, he's my father." I smiled, plastering on the face of a businessman – something ingrained in me from childhood.

"Ah, a fine man. Please give him my regards," Andrew nodded. I mentally scoffed – there was more chance of this guy seeing him before I did…

"I'll be sure to, Mr. Schneider. You don't mind if I borrow Ms. Lancaster for a moment, do you?"  
"Oh, not at all… she wouldn't want to spend her time with an old dog like me," he laughed. Kenna returned the smile.

"Andrew, you don't give yourself enough credit." As soon as we were out of earshot, Kenna turned to me, "Haven't seen you pull out the charm in a while…"  
"That's because we haven't been friends for a while," I muttered, "Are you ever going to talk about it?"  
"Talk about what?"

I rolled my eyes. Wasn't it obvious?

"The ending to _Lost_. The whole… feeling people… hearing thoughts… thing."  
"Empathy." She nodded.

"What?"  
"Well, it's like we truly understand them. It's like… we're empathising with them."

I shook my head.

"Whatever. Can we talk about it?"

Kenna opened her mouth to respond, but then we both felt it – the presence. One that had been evident throughout the party, but only now because distinct. Sean Prescott was behind me.

Sure enough, the hand clapped onto my shoulder.

"Kenna! I'm glad you accepted my invitation," He said in a slick, confident manner. It was almost disgusting how easily he could schmooze. Kenna flickered her eyes towards me.

"Of course, Mr. Prescott. I was just wishing Robert a happy birthday," she turned towards me. I focused on making my internal voice as loud as possible ' _Stop looking in my head, I know you're doing it_.'

She let out a small smile.

"You don't mind if I borrow him, do you?" Kenna shook her head.  
"Of course not. I'll see you in a bit, _Robert_."

' _Shut up_ ' I mentally told her.

' _Sorry, you told me not to listen to your inner voice anymore…_ ' she walked away to talk with the others – she was good at talking. People liked her a lot…

"Is it true what I heard?" Sean asked in a low, stern voice. I could feel his frustration brimming.

"I suppose it depends on what you heard. If it's about the End of the World party-"

"You think I care about a party? Please… Kristine was just as bad…" Sean shook his head, checking to see no-one was around, "I'm talking about the linebacker."

I nodded. Of course. It was still about his image, and my image affecting his.

"Ah, you mean the fight."

"Of course I mean the fight!" He hissed, stopping only to compose himself and not cause a scene. "Apparently you were like a pair of rabid dogs…"

"He deserved it-" I began to explain calmly.

"And why's that?"  
"He started talking about Rachel… a-and, about Nathan-"

"So, that's why you hit him?" Sean shook his head, "So, what, this was payback? Are you proud of yourself? Is Nathan back home now?" I could see Kenna looking over to us – no doubt she could pick up on Sean's emotions – they were like a foghorn in the dead of night. "Or did you just make it that much harder for Nathan to come home? With your antics… you're damaging our reputation!"

"And that's what it's all about…"

"What are you talking about?"  
"Nathan gave Rachel an overdose-"

"Jesus _Christ_ , Robbie," Sean began to drag me out of the tent by the arm "not in front of the press…"

We stood outside, with Sean checking to make sure that none of the reporters had followed us.

"Listen," he adopted a softer, fatherly tone – as if that would change his words "you're a part of this family whether you like it or not. And thanks to this little… escapade of yours, _Lancaster Co._ feel that the Prescott family is too violent to do business with."

He turned away from me as I rubbed my chin. That was why Kenna was invited tonight. Clearly – it wasn't anything to do with my birthday. This was all just so he could get another shot of his precious deal…

"Listen," Sean sighed, "you're a lot like your father. Tommy is a great friend – a dear friend of mine. He didn't start out with money, and he didn't have a lot of friends, but he understood that his actions impact on his entire family. He was an Alpha – he understood that he had to put other people first when you're part of a family."

I wasn't able to bite my tongue. I couldn't – I had had enough of Sean singing my father's praises. 

"Really?" I asked, trying to breathe deeply and remain calm. Sean's mounting pressure didn't do much to help, "Are we talking about the same man here?"  
"What are you talking about?" Sean's face scrunched up in confusion. "Of course we are!"  
"If what you said is true, why did he leave me here?"

Sean froze. He was lost for words. He didn't know what to say – that much was clear. It was hard to believe that that was the first time I had ever asked that question. After nine years, I finally wanted to know.

"Where is he? Where's daddy, Sean?"

"Don't go changing the subject, Robert-"

"If my dad, was so concerned with putting me first, why did he send halfway around the fucking world, and why hasn't he talked to me in the past nine years?" I couldn't keep my voice down. The disrespect he was showing me, after all I had done- No, that was Sean talking. I couldn't get his stupid thoughts out of my head!

"How dare you talk to me like-"

"No, how dare you!"

I threw the glass into the pool and walked away. I'd had enough of this – Sean telling me how to act, Kristine telling me to grieve, everyone telling me I was wrong about Nathan and he was a psychopath, or everyone telling me it was only natural to be angry and upset. I'd had enough of everything.

I started to walk back towards Blackwell Academy, taking off the tie-clip and silk tie as I walked. Fucking Sean – I was done with him. Him and the whole damned family. I didn't need them… I was eighteen – legally an adult, able to access my own trust fund. And now, with Nathan… well, there was no reason for me to talk to them anymore.

"Robbie!" I turned around to see Kenna there, running after me in her light, eggshell dress, noticing woven floral patterns around the waist. She came up to me, flinging her arms around my neck and hugging me. "I'm sorry…"  
"What? Why are you…" I paused, catching on. "You've been in my head, haven't you?" I asked lowly. She nodded. "I don't need a hug, Kenna," I said, pulling away from her.

"Well, I do, so you must as well," Kenna said, pulling me back to hug her.

I stopped trying to plaster on a smirk. I stopped trying to make a joke, have a drink or roll a spliff. Instead, I just wrapped my arms around her and appreciated being there with someone. I couldn't remember the last time someone had hugged me…

"That's sad."  
"Jesus, can I get a padlock for my brain?" I couldn't help making a joke that time – it was like a reflex.

I felt strange for a moment – like, another thought became evident. I looked over to see a girl – around our age, crossing the street. She had thick, scarlet red hair, tied back in a braid, clad in a pair of track pants with a large blue hoodie draped over her. I could hear someone's thoughts – I couldn't decipher them, they were all too muddled… too much on their mind…

I saw the car pull out as the girl stepped into the road.

I let go of Kenna and ran forwards, sprinting across the street. Everything seemed to happen slowly – the car came closer with each step of my foot onto the pavement. I saw the girls' eyes go wide in shock as she saw the car.

I launched myself through the air, trying to grab her and pull her out of the way. My arms wrapped around her, grabbing her hands to try and pull her out of the way, but the car was already there – I saw the bonnet reflect my dishevelled suit, and I saw my jacket forwards back from the sheer force of the car's speed.

I fell over, hitting my head on the pavement, hard, with the girl rolling across the road. I sat up, looking around. The car was behind us, with the man getting out of the car. I looked down at myself – no injuries. Nothing at all. In fact… I was about ten feet in front of where I had been standing. Like the car had passed through us or something.

Crowds ran over to help us to our feet, and I saw the girl stare at me, bewildered and full of wonderment – a look I must have mirrored.

"Are you okay?" Kenna asked, helped me to my feet.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm…" I kept my eyes on the girl, who quickly picked herself up and began to hastily walk away, pulling up her hood. "I'm fine…" 

Then, I heard people. As in, I just heard them asking if I was okay. My head felt empty – so much free space! I looked at Kenna, narrowing my eyes to try and hear what she was doubtlessly thinking. I knew she was in a panic, but I wanted to feel that.

Nothing. I couldn't feel that.

' _Kenna_ , _Kenna listen to me_ ,' Kenna immediately went quiet, waiting for me to continue speaking… or, rather, thinking, ' _Kenna, are you thinking anything right now_?'

After a moment, she began nodding.

"You couldn't hear that?" She asked me, brows furrowed. I shook my head, looking back towards the girl that had walked away…

 **I hope you guys enjoyed! I** **can** **confirm that the girl we saw at the end was Hailey MacIntosh. So, leave a review detailing…**

 **What you think Robbie's power is?**

 **What you think Hailey's power is?**

 **Kenna and Robbie's friendship?**

 **How much of a dick Sean Prescott is?**

 **Anything else you picked up from this chapter**

 **R.**


	10. Chapter 8: Mirror Test

**Hi guys!**

 **This is the longest chapter yet – clocking in over 3,600 words, it's my pleasure to introduce the first narrative of** **Hailey MacIntosh** **. Also, I'm including another side character –** _ **iamgoku**_ **'s** **Abigail Constantine** **.**

 **The space for side OC's is dwindling, and I think I'd only be able to squeeze in one more. So, enjoy this chapter. By the way, I worked out that this story is going to be around 24 chapters long (depending on whether I include an epilogue or not).**

 **I'm playing around with the idea of doing a sequel, since I want to leave the possibility open. But yeah – we're on chapter 8, so we're about… 1/3 in? Damn, I feel like I haven't made a dent in this story yet…**

 **I'd love to write a sequel, but I'm going into my final year of university, and I'm going to be so busy doing a Creative Writing course, I won't be able to do my own creative writing for a hobby… So, it's all a bit up in the air. I'm determined to finish this story first though.**

 **Reviews…**

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _I can_ _ **confirm**_ _that Robbie's_ _ **Power is Replication**_ _. As_ _ **Harukawa Ayame**_ _theorized, Robbie_ _ **can**_ _replicate the powers of other people through_ _ **physical touch**_ _._

 _You are_ _ **correct**_ _. Hailey's power is_ _ **teleportation**_ _._

 _Kenna and Robbie used to be friends a while back – that's what we're seeing here. I wouldn't say they're friends now, but they both have powers, and have been able to experience the emotions of other people – that's a bond that would pull two people together._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _Actually that is true – when Robbie touches someone's skin, his boy is able to re-order it's DNA to mimic the certain gene of someone that determines their power. However, he doesn't have much control over it at this point – it's more of a reflex that occurs in intense situations._

 _Well, I'm glad you think so! I give a little explanation for why Hailey was in Arcadia Bay last night, but she's only enrolling today._

 _I wouldn't say he's brave. It's actually a very unhealthy response – it's a psychological response to trauma – trying to regain some form of control. He_ _may_ _be brave, but I would say he's more reckless. Either way, the fact is that he saved her._

 _Oh come on, of course Sean Prescott will use it to make himself look better._

 _Yeah, Kenna's a sweetheart. She's that friend that's just there for everyone. Someone I know is actually a major influence as to how I write how Kenna thinks and acts. Here's a little fan theory – Robbie is acting more like Kenna (and helping others) because Kenna has influenced him with her power. We've seen that she's far more adept at using it than he is._

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _Yup, Robbie can replicate the powers of other people through physical touch. Shown by how he was able to empathize with Nathan after brushing Kenna's hand in the prologue. However, each time he gains a new power, he loses the old one._

 _Hailey can indeed_ _ **teleport**_ _._

 _Haha, I haven't planned anything. I just feel like they bring out a certain side of each other. As we can see, Robbie is definitely changing after finding out other people have powers._

 _Ooh, what hints have you picked up on? Because I've dropped a major hint recently._

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Hey Tobi! I hope you've picked up a few subtle hints about Hailey as well as who's going to be involved in the main conflict in this story._

 _You're 100% right about Robbie's power. I can_ _ **confirm**_ _that he replicates the powers of others, and when he gains a new power, he loses the old one._

 _The word you're looking for is 'phasing'. But, Hailey can actually_ _ **teleport**_ _._

 _They're quite different, as people, but they've got a lot of crossover in personalities. I don't know if I'd say they'd be good in a relationship together though… we know what Kenna thinks of Robbie…_

 _HA! That's actually so accurate…_

 _ **Ooh**_ _, nice catch. If you could teleport, wouldn't you use it to escape a bit?_

 _I know what you mean. Thanks for having my back_ _ ***fistbump***_

 _YO! I'm on board with that. Let's do it! Come on_ **DONTNOD** _, let's get the ball rolling!_

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _You are here! I lied about Robbie's ability – as you said very early on, he_ _ **can**_ _replicate powers through touch. I explained the ins and outs of it to_ _ **So hard to choose usernames**_ _. Also, I need to check out that anime then…_

 _Ooh, correct – it is_ _ **teleportation**_ _. Nice catch on the clothing btw…_

 _It's not consistent, but Kenna's there for him when it counts._

 _Oh yeah the 'Riddle'… I'll tell you about that in a couple of chapters… *points at_ _ **iamgoku**_ _* Not. A. Word._

 _Octavi-bro will be seen soon, I promise._

 _ **iamgoku -**_ _Thank you so much! And intangibility?_

 _Sean Prescott is_ _ **such**_ _a dick…_

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _Yup – mimicry, replication, absorption – whatever we want to call it._

 _Hailey can actually teleport – Robbie is simply describing the fact that_ _ **he didn't feel**_ _the car hit him. It was a bit of a misdirect on my part._

 _Oh, she'd beat him half to death with his own shoe._

 **Hailey: Mirror Test**

"Well… this is it."

I looked out of the window at the large, red-brick Academy. Blackwell… it was a dream to come here. It was like having roots for the first time – really being able to take off your shoes, and not worry about when you'd have to lace them up and carry your suitcase out the door again.

Jeff wasn't a bad guy – I've had a lot of foster parents, and Jeff definitely wasn't one of the worst I'd had. I guess he just didn't know how to be a dad. He had some sort of misplaced responsibility to look after me – I think that's why he was so hesitant about agreeing to send me here.

"You sure about this, kiddo?" I think Jeff called me 'kiddo' because he'd seen one too many feel-good movies, and thought it was a thing.

"I'm sure," I nodded, getting out of the car and opening the boot to pull out my suitcase. I wasn't carrying much – just a few t-shirts, jeans, my favourite hoodies and so on.. No personal items. With the fraction of what I get from the government, I didn't have much to spend on mementos.

"Well… enjoy yourself," Jeff pulled me in for an awkward hug – his wristwatch got caught in my braid, causing me to wince a little. A minute later, his watch had come off and he carefully removed it from my hair. This time, he elected for a simple, albeit odd, pat on the head.

"I'll see you later, Jeff," I waved.

"Remember, phone if you something, and we'll see you at Christmas."

"Sure… maybe," I smiled – I didn't have the heart to tell him I planned to stay here at Christmas. It wasn't anything personal… you sit through as many family dinners as I have around Christmas time, you understand that they'll only end in arguments.

I stood outside the large double doors. Blackwell Academy. A new start. No homophobes, bullies, or people that knew me. It was my clean slate.

I'd done a bit of research on the place before I arrived, and only found a few things out of the ordinary – a shooting had taken place here early in the month. It shocked me, definitely, and made me doubt whether I wanted to go to this school… I mean, wouldn't you wonder whether it was a place to be?

Especially when one of the teachers here was arrest for drugging students – girls in his class. What a sicko… I couldn't help but think this school definitely wasn't the right place for me… If I couldn't trust the students, who could I trust?

But, I got a scholarship here – it covered most of the bills, and the money from the government managed to make ends meet. It left me with about thirty dollars a week to spend on food and clothes which… well, I guess I could live on that. If I was thrifty…

I wouldn't have to spend money on transportation at least – what with my… freak ability. I kept replaying yesterday over and over in my mind… that boy. He'd grabbed me – I knew for a fact I didn't teleport – I was no-where near that sloppy with the landing. I didn't even make the conscious choice to do it. Him, however… he was like me. He could do it too…

My head began to buzz with wonder about him. Did he get it when I did? Could he teleport as far as I could? Further? What were our limits? Were there others like us? How did it work?

"Hailey MacIntosh?" I turned around to see a freckle-faced girl with a messy, chocolate bob, pushing her laptop into her satchel as she approached.

"Yeah?"  
"Hey, I'm Maggie Fournier – Principal Wells said I'm meant to show you the dorms and help you settle in."  
"Oh," I smiled, "Thanks, that's really awesome of you." It was nice of her, but I couldn't help but feel a little bit pandered to… I was being assigned a friend.

"Oh, this is Cat," Maggie said, and it was only then that I noticed the ginger striped cat circle her feet, "Say 'hi' Cat."

The cat meowed at her command.

"Wow… a trained cat," I smiled, "how long have you had her?"  
"A few days," Maggie smiled as the small cat brushed against her leg. "Do you like cats?"

"I… I don't know," I said, only stopping to consider it, "I've never had one."  
"Well, as long as you don't mind the scratches…" Maggie smiled, "Hey, don't tell anyone, okay? We're not… exactly allowed pets on campus."

Brilliant. I hadn't even stepped foot in the building, and I was already breaking rules. I was helping her – an accomplice! I was an accomplice on my first day!

"Sure," I nodded, like it was no big thing. I began to follow Maggie across the campus to the building that I assumed to be the dorms.

"So, I'm a reporter for _the Blackwell Totem_ ," Maggie began to explain, "So, I'm pretty in the know about stuff here. I'll give you a quick run-down," she pointed over to a trio of boys on skateboards, "those are the skater boys – they're kind of… clique-y – like, skater purists. But, nice enough… so long as you know who Tony Hawk is."

We came to the large building with ' _Prescott Dorm_ ' engraved above the door.

"As you've guessed, these are the dorms," she opened the door for me, "they're not co-ed, which can be kind of lame, at times, but whatever. A general rule we have here is no boys. If you want to see a guy, you can go upstairs to their dorm," she pointed at the door to the side of us before going through the larger one in front, "this is the dorm".

It was… clean. Girls were moving out of their rooms, socialising in the hallway, all chatting and smiling. It was a massive change to the schools I used to go to…

"In there's the showers and toilets," Maggie pointed, "down there's the vending machines, and this…" Maggie opened a door, "is you."

I opened the door. It was a bland, small room. A twin bed was pushed up against the side of the room, next to a desk which was crammed against the window. A tiny dresser sat next to a small closet. I smiled - my own space. Completely mine. On the desk sat a _Dell_ laptop. One of the perks of my scholarship.

"Trust me, you get used to the size…" Maggie reassured me.

"No, it's great," I smiled, stepping inside, "it's cosy."  
"You're an optimist," Maggie smiled, "I'll let you get unpacked. I'll show you the cafeteria in… ten minutes?" I nodded. "Cool – I'm just next door."

I put my suitcase in the middle of the floor and began to unpack: all my hoodies, jeans and t-shirts were hung in the closet. I didn't even end up using all the hangers, which made me frown. I guess I'd have to buy some more clothes… Which was always unenjoyable for me.

I took out my underwear and socks, folding them into the drawers. I was half-way through putting away my bras when there was a knock on my door. I looked up to see Maggie standing there.

"Ready?"  
"Yeah, give me a sec," I began to rush, stuffing the bras into the drawer as quickly as I could.

"Is blue your favourite colour?" Maggie asked, picking up one of them. I had to do my best not to freak out at her, and just calmly took it from her with a smile.

"Yeah," I chuckled, "I'm not good at picking out clothes…"  
"It's cool – everyone buys stuff online here. There's no mall in Arcadia Bay."

I picked up my backpack, fitting my new laptop inside, and began to follow Maggie down the corridor. She waved hello to several people, saying all their names. I tried to keep track, but ultimately, it turns out I'm not good with names. Never have been.

We crossed the campus and walked over to the main building, where Maggie began to speak again.

"So, this is where we have all our lessons and our meals," I followed Maggie inside, and as we were about to turn left, I stopped, seeing a door decorated with pictures, notes, flowers, candles… I wandered over there, looking at the pictures. It was a vigil, or a shrine of some sort, that much was true, and I recognized the blue-haired girl from the pictures online – though, she had brown hair in the online articles, and looked much younger. Well, I guess there weren't many pictures of her going through her rebellious phase.

"This is that girl, isn't it?" I looked at Maggie. "Chloe Price?"  
"Yeah… that's Chloe," Maggie sighed, "that's… that's where she died." 

I immediately took a step backwards. Of course – it made sense why these were laid outside a bathroom, but… she died a few feet from where I was standing… It really put everything in perspective. If that boy hadn't teleported me out, would that have been me? Would there be a vigil for me?

No – no-one knew me in Arcadia Bay; I'd only come along to check out the town before I enrolled here.

"So, here's the cafeteria," Maggie led me through some doors, and I saw what was, without a doubt, the poshest cafeteria ever. Wooden panelled walls, rows of assortments of food. Croissants, bacon, pancakes, eggs (fried, scrambled, and poached) sourdough toast, whole-wheat toast, porridge, and vast stretched of fruit cups.

"Now, over there is Victoria, Taylor and Courtney," Maggie gestured with her head, "That's Zach, next to Juliet… erm… those girls, sitting on their own, is Max Caulfield – she's a bit of a nerd, and Kate Marsh – she's in charge of Bible group. Who else… Oh, that's the jock table: Alex Harper, Warner Monger, Logan Robertson… Octavio's sitting with them, which is… weird," Maggie lingered on the skinny, Hispanic boy, who wore a pair of heavy headphones around his neck, tapping away at a miniscule laptop.

"Okay," Maggie took a deep breath, "Warner's a total psycho when he's playing football, which is why people call him 'Warmonger' – dumb name, I know – Octavio's your usual quiet guy, not much to say there – Victoria's a total bitch… so's Courtney… Oh, let me introduce you to someone!"

Maggie grabbed my wrist and pulled me through the cafeteria to a table where only one person sat. Without a doubt, the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Slender, not skinny, with curves in all the right places. Her hair was the classic type of blonde, spiralling and tumbling down beside her angular, sculpted face. Her bluebell eyes glinting with reflections of fluorescent lights as she got up to hug Maggie. She was, without a doubt, the single most striking and stunning person I'd ever seen in my entire life. I was just in awe of her.

"Kenna, this is the new girl, Hailey MacIntosh. Hailey, this is our resident model, Kenna Lancaster."

"Hi Hailey," Kenna stretched out a perfect hand, speaking in a soft, almost musical chime, "Welcome to Blackwell Academy."

I could only let out a strange, guttural noise. I was just dumbfounded. Star-struck – no, moonstruck. I didn't know how to function. She was just… gorgeous. I felt incredibly aware of myself – I should've worn my big blue hoodie – it'd cover up my body… or, at least, the lack of it…

"I love your shoes," Kenna complimented me. I looked down at my scuffed trainers. She must've been lying.

"Thanks," I said, sitting down next to Maggie, opposite Kenna.

"Seriously – they look pretty old… in a good way, I mean."  
"Yeah… I got them from a thrift shop…" What I didn't say was that it was because thrift shops were the only places in my budget.

"Well, they look awesome. Vintage is pretty in right now, too…" I began to look around at the people with trays of food… I probably should eat... "Have you got a lunch card yet?"  
"What?"  
"A lunch card. They don't accept cash here."  
"Oh… I didn't…"  
"It's fine, Hailey – I'll get it. Just make sure you get one today" She smiled, reaching into her purse and pulling out the card. I shook my head.

"No, it's fine – I'm not hungry-"

"Hailey, you want breakfast – I can tell."

Maggie and Kenna exchanged a smile. I couldn't help but feel paranoid here – were they making fun of me? They did seem a bit too nice… and I knew first-hand how these pranks went down…

"It's not going to explode, Hailey," Kenna assured me, "Get whatever you want – it's fine. You can even pay me back if it makes you feel better," I bit my lip, hesitantly reaching out for the card, as if she was going to pull it back at any second. I tentatively took it from her grasp, looking at her re-assuring, warm smile.

"Thank you…" I said, returning the small smile. I felt my cheeks flush and burn as I noticed her eyes bore into mine. I couldn't help but focus on her lips – two perfect, full and curved bows, pressed together lightly…

I quickly shook off the thought, standing up quickly (and banging my knees on the table), and walking away quickly to get myself breakfast.

I didn't want to stick out here. I was going to fit in – belong here. Not many people got into Blackwell, and even fewer got a scholarship here. The last thing that I needed was being outed as a freak.

And I wasn't talking about my powers.

I initially went for the toast and eggs, but then I remembered Kenna's body… I wanted that – to look like that, I mean. That meant no carbs… I choose a small bowl of porridge and a small cup of blueberries. Seven dollars. For that? It seems that thirty dollars wouldn't get me as much as I thought…

I walked back to the table with the tray, sitting down next to Maggie again. I returned Kenna's card, and began to eat – I had to admit, it felt good to eat. Kenna flashed another dazzling smile, and I had to look anywhere else – I definitely didn't look good eating porridge… It was hard to eat delicately…

"Maggie," I asked, trying to fill in the silence, "who's that, sitting on her own?"

Maggie looked over to the table by the window, where one girl sat on her own. A single blonde ponytail, with two strands framing her heart-shaped face. She still wore her large, maroon trench coat, despite the lack of rain. She ate in total silence, reading a thick novel.

"Oh, that's Abigail Constantine," Maggie informed me, "She's in the year above. One of the two British people here."  
"Oh… that's a while away," I frowned in wonder.

"Well," Maggie said, a smile dancing across her face as she turned to face me fully, her hands frantically clasping each other in eagerness, "Abigail's dad was this cop back in London, and when she was-"

"Maggie…" Kenna said lowly. Maggie stopped talking, turning to face Kenna, her face frozen.

"Bad?" 

Kenna nodded.

"Okay… well, look, I wouldn't advise talking to her," Maggie said quickly, "She's… pretty volatile."  
"Really? Volatile?" I looked over to her – she seemed pretty mild-mannered from how she sat, sipping her orange juice.

"She smacked Courtney Wagner a month back for no reason!"  
"Courtney stole her phone," Kenna interjected.

"How would you-" Maggie stopped as Kenna raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Kenna let out a large cough (even that was musical), and the two exchanged a long silence. I couldn't help but feel like there was something big that I was missing here. Fortunately, I had other things to worry about…

Walking into the cafeteria was a figure that I recognized instantly. He was lean, wearing a dark, form-fitting leather jacket. His black jeans were torn and skinny, but it was his face that I recognized more than anything. That black eye, healing scar across the eyebrow, and that mess of dark hair atop his head…

It was the boy who'd tackled me in front of the car.

"Maggie," I asked the resident gossip, "Who's that?"  
"That?" She looked around to see me pointing at Robbie, who Victoria and her group of girls began to wave over, "That's Robbie Morrigan."  
"Robbie?"  
"Party boy, socialite, another resident limey, budding alcoholic… how would you describe him, Kenna?"

"Robbie," Kenna raised an eyebrow, then flashed another smile – one so brilliant, I couldn't help but try to reflect it, "he's a dick."

I looked over to Robbie, whose eyes rested on me. I saw his brow furrow, and then his eyes widen as he noticed me. As he stood up, grabbing his bag off his table, the bell rang, and everyone stood up, starting to make their way to class.

"What's your first class?" Maggie asked me.

"Oh… it's fine – I'll find my way, thanks," I smiled politely. I had to talk to Robbie first – this couldn't wait. I needed some answers now.

I waded and weaved through the crowds until I made out his jacket. I grabbed his wrist, trying to stop him and hold him in place.

We stayed like that for a while – with the world moving around us while we stood still, his eyes fixed on me, narrowed and full of inquisition – a look I probably mimicked. I waited until everyone had left, then let go of his arm.

"You're okay," He stated, looking me up and down.

"Yeah," I nodded, "thanks to you."

Robbie shook his head.

"I didn't… I didn't do anything," Robbie glanced around to make sure no-one was listening, "I was just in the right place."  
"Well, thank you," I glanced around "We need to talk."

Robbie nodded, and threw his bag up onto his shoulder, leading me back out and onto the quad.

"So, do I call you 'new girl'," Robbie started, "or do you have a name?"  
"Hailey. And you're Robbie Morrigan, right?"  
"You've been talking to Maggie," Robbie chuckled. He looked around us, "Well, no-one's in earshot now…" He scratched the back of his head, waiting for me to talk.

One more, questions began to explode through my mind. I didn't know where to start, so I guess I just wanted to know the most important, basic things.

"How long have you known?" I asked Robbie quietly. His brows pulled together as he gave a confused smile, looking around for someone to explain my question to him.

"Erm… known what?" He asked, narrowing his eyes once more.

"…That you can… you're like me?" Robbie's face didn't change, so I went on, "If you didn't teleport, we would've died-"

"Wait," Robbie pulled me along on the campus, as if we were being overheard, and leant in close, "You can… you teleport? That's what happened yesterday?"

"I couldn't imagine…" I felt myself smile. I wanted to cry, I wanted to shout, I just wanted the world to know how amazing this felt. After years of feeling wrong, there was finally someone who was like me. How do you even begin to say thank you to someone for that? "I didn't think that anyone else could do what I do…" I shook my head in pure and utter disbelief at what was happening, "I thought I was the only one…" I began to chuckle. Robbie returned my smile – he looked like a kid getting a cookie – so happy – excited would be a more accurate term.

"I think I would've died if it wasn't for you."  
"What do you mean?" I asked – he had teleported us out of there – I owed him my life, not the other way around.

"Well," He opened his mouth, doubtlessly trying to figure out how to word something un-word-able, "I'm not exactly… like you," he paused, "this whole… teleporting thing… that was the first time I ever did it."

Internal conflict is an interesting thing. I felt disappointed at this – he wasn't exactly like me. He didn't know the limits of teleportation, he didn't go through the exact same things I went through. But I also felt… valuable.

"You… you didn't know you'd teleport when you went in front of that car?"  
"I _couldn't_ teleport then," he chuckled, "I should probably get my head checked out, huh?"

I mimicked his chuckle.

"You're… you're kind of brave…" I began to tell him, "and stupid." We exchanged another laugh. It was nice to laugh for real. "But… why? Why save me? You didn't know me."

Robbie bit his lip as he looked back towards the school for a moment.

"I've… I've lost people before, Hailey," He said, his smile fading, "it's…" He took a deep breath, "I can't just stand by while it happens again."

I smiled at this. Between him, Kenna and Maggie, I felt my doubts about Blackwell beginning to fade.

"You're a good guy, Robbie Morrigan."

"Listen, there's this gig tonight, _Different Creatures_ are playing at the old Mill," He took out his phone, "a couple of us have… can do stuff here. We're going to meet up and… well, the idea is that we all help each other with our… things."  
"Who else is there?"  
"I don't know, Kenna said she's found-"  
"Kenna? Lancaster?"  
"Yeah… look, what's your number? I'll text you the details."

I took out my phone as fast as I could, swapping numbers with Robbie. I couldn't stop beaming for the rest of the day – finally, I'd found someone like me!

I just wasn't that alone anymore.

 **Well, there we go! Now then – I hope you guys enjoyed it! It's not my finest, I know, but I think some stuff happened… maybe. I promise the next chapter is going to be a fan favourite.**

 **Let me know your thoughts on:**

 **Hailey as a narrator**

 **What pairs you want to see scenes of (we've properly seen Kenna and Maggie, Warner and Robbie, now Hailey and Robbie)**

 **Which character do you like most as a NARRATOR?**

 **Which character do you like most as a CHARACTER?**

 **Which character do you think has the most USEFUL power?**

 **See you guys next time,**

 **R.**


	11. Chapter 9: Magnetoreception

**Hello boys and girls. Sorry for the late update – been visiting my sister today. So, here's the long awaited chapter, featuring all our fan favourites and least favourites. So… this is heavily focused around powers, but even more so around the characters. SO, read on, and enjoy!**

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Hailey's cool. As for that awkward noddle promise I made… Hailey belongs to_ _ **So hard usernames to choose usernames**_

 _I'm glad to hear! We see her out of her element here… hahaha… I made a science joke… it's to do with quantum entanglement, theories of atomic displacement… that was an Octavi-joke._

 _You'll like this chapter. There's so much awkwardness… We had some guy chapter previously between Robbie and Warner, but there's a little more on the way._

 _Well, enjoy this chapter from Maggie's POV!_

 _Kenna is, without a doubt, the nicest person in the story. Hands down._

 _Ahh… Octavio's power… read on._

 _ ***Sinister laugh***_ _Oh you shouldn't be cautious… not yet._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _Hmmm… you've got some things right, but you're not quite on the right lines with the first part of the riddle. As for 'The Old Country'… well, let's just say that I've been dropping in hints as to what that means. As for Alex – we know at least 7 students at Blackwell have powers…_

 _We see many interactions here – enjoy!_

 _I'm planning to write from Octavio's POV in the next chapter or the one after._

 _Warner's power does have a slight drawback… at least when you're learning to use it. As we'll see shortly…_

 _Ooh, Villain? I wouldn't say so… Abigail's… complex. A lot like Robbie…_ _ ***sinister laugh***_

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _I thought so! And yes, you know I monopolise the 'Unreliable Narrator' device…_

 _Ooh, yeah – that is true… she doesn't have a bias… but who's Hailey learning a lot about Blackwell from?_

 _Ooh – there's so much drama brewing… read on in this chapter…_

 _And that was intentional – nice attention to detail. Max is actually keeping an eye on Kate… I'll go into that at some point, I promise._

 _You'll like this chapter… I hope. I mean, it's Maggie, so expect a lot of her observations… there's quite a few of them._

 _Octavio, Octavi-bro… he's really coming into his own…_

 _Also, yeah, Kenna's the only one responsible enough for that power._

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Haha… Hailey's so smitten. I mean, it's like seeing… well, Annasophia Robb. The term 'moonstruck' is one my friend told me about – it's a great word._

 _Ooh, you're in luck… Maggie and Warner you say? You can't say I don't listen to fans…_

 _Octavio's the fan favourite… I sure hope he doesn't die or anything._

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _I hope you enjoy this. And yes – not a word to anyone. Though, you don't actually know what that riddle refers to… but shtum until chapter… 12(?) And yes – I'd love some more updated opinions – never enough information on characters.  
_

 _Robbie and Kenna is a thing that keeps cropping up… lots of people don't like it, but I'm not trying to make a romance here. They_ _ **used**_ _to be close, and in this story, they've grown up a bit, but they can't help but fall back into an old pattern of being friends – which we'll see may not be the best thing for either of them…_

 _Ooh… Well, have some more Maggie then!_

 _Yeah… Warner's power is pretty dope._

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _Hmmm… depends on who else you're talking about with Hailey…_

 _It is pretty cute – we see how Oxy's changed a little since they've started hanging out_

 _Well, everyone loves their own brand…_

 **Maggie: Magnetoreception**

The abandoned mill was associated with certain students – junkies, delinquents and other sorts of undesirables. So, when Robbie had arranged for us to go and see _Different Creatures_ (a band none of us had ever heard of), my first response was 'Hell no'. But, Kenna was insistent we go – she didn't tell me the specifics, but from what she told me, she'd found others like us. She said it was surprise Robbie and I who'd she found.

So, Robbie, Hailey and I sat in the rafters, looking out at the supporting band, _Cassius_ , and their churning crowds of moshing fans below. They were a English band – London, apparently – so Robbie supported them out of loyalty for his home country and town. I'd managed to smuggle in Cat with me. For a squalid, termite-ridden hovel like the mill, it was fairly strict when it came to animals on the premises.

"So… Hailey," I said, trying to make conversation, "You can do something as well?"

Hailey nodded, holding a single bottle of beer that she hadn't sipped in the past ten minutes. I would've assumed it was the taste of cheap moonshine, but it didn't seem to phase Robbie – it was like she was keeping her wits about her. I couldn't blame her – skeevy guys crept out of the woodwork more than the termites here.

"Yeah," She smiled, "I can-" Robbie quickly interjected with a yell.

"Show and tell doesn't start until everyone's here," He said, looking between the two of us firmly. I never really knew Robbie that well – we were both part of Vortex, but he whole-heartedly embraced the 'Party-Boy' persona more than anyone else. It was probably because of this that he never really understood the big deal about Kate Marsh's video – it was a usual occurrence for him.

I leant back onto the chipped floorboards, stroking Cat, who was having trouble trying to find a spot to lie down.

A few more minutes passed; Robbie went downstairs and came back with a few more bottles of beer – I helped myself to one, which I nursed over the next ten minutes. Hailey, however, was still yet to have another swig.

"Not a big drinker?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"Not really… haven't really drunk before…"  
"Well, no pressure," I smiled, trying to reassure her, "you don't need to drink."  
"She's a big girl, Maggie," Robbie rolled his eyes, "she doesn't need your permission." 

Well, he was still a jerk.

A few more moments passed, where I tried to listen to _Cassius_. They weren't bad – too distorted and angry for me to appreciate. Robbie, on the other hand, lit a cigarette, and began to sing along to the lyrics absent-mindedly. I shook my head with a smile – it was like this whole meeting was an excuse to get drunk at a gig.

Ten minutes later, Kenna arrived. Alone.

"I thought you said you'd found others."  
"They're getting a beer," Kenna explained. "Now, you remember at the End of the World party, where you and Octavio fell into the pool randomly?" I nodded, remembering the experience. "Well, it turns out it wasn't so random…" 

We saw shadows creep up the stairs. I gripped my bottle in anticipation as we all watched, and waited. Who else had a power? It was someone we knew, definitely – Blackwell was small, and the number of people at the pool party were smaller still. Was it Zach Robertson? Pushing Octavio in the pool seemed like the sort of thing he'd do…

"This is so awesome…" Robbie grinned.

We all felt that buzz – the anxiety of meeting others. It was this super secret scoop – too secret to even gossip about it – the _ultimate_ gossip. First up the stairs came Warner Monger. Him? Really? The hot-headed jock?

"…And now it's not." Robbie said, drinking his beer.

" _You've_ got a power?"  
"You don't have to sound so disappointed…" Warner smirked in response.

Before I could respond, someone else came up the stairs behind Warner. I could see Kenna smiling at me – looking at _me_ in particular. It was like _I_ was going to be affected by the next person…

"Oh, you will be…" Kenna giggled excitedly.

And up the stairs came… Octavio?

"Wait, what?"

"Maggie?" Octavio asked incredulously, "W-what are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"I… I can do… I've got…" He stammered, anxiously playing with the zip on his jacket before dissolving into stutters and chokes.

"I think he's saying he has a power," Robbie whispered loudly. He turned to Kenna, drinking his beer.

"Yup, that's it," She nodded.

"That was a test. Stay out of my head," Robbie stood up, "Well… I'm going to go and get more beer."  
"I'll come!" Hailey said immediately, burning a deep shade of red as she passed Kenna and went downstairs with Robbie.

A minute later, they returned with an old, cracked crate of bottles. Discount brands of whiskey, rum, beer, cider…

"Something for everyone," Robbie smiled, setting it down. Everyone took something, though it was Robbie and Warner who helped themselves to the spirits. We sat in silence, no-one knowing who should go first. Well, there wasn't much of a protocol for this. We all waited for someone to start asking a question about this. I was burning in anticipation of finding out what everyone could do. I knew what Kenna could do, and Kenna probably knew what everyone else could do.

I only then realised Kenna and Robbie sharing looks. Kenna would look at Robbie for several seconds, then shake her head or nod. I smiled – she could hear what he was thinking. That's how they were communicating. Warner and Octavio, however, did not notice this – well, they wouldn't – neither of them knew what Kenna could do… I doubted it, anyway.

"Should…" Octavio coughed, making all of us look over to him. He immediately dropped his gaze to the beer bottle as he began to pull the label off of it, "should we… like… come up with a name? Yeah…no? I don't…"

Warner shook his head with a little laugh.

"Christ you're a twat…" Robbie chuckled. We all started chuckling at this – even Octavio. It was nice – it broke the ice… even if Robbie was being a bit of jerk.

"So, who's going first?"

Robbie raised an eyebrow at Kenna, who sighed.

"Okay, someone think of a number…"  
"No-no, not again," Robbie shook his head, "My ears are still ringing – the less you're in my head, the better…"

"What about you, Robbie?" I asked, "Why don't you show us all what you can do?" 

Robbie sat forwards, and stretched out his hand.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Everyone started laughing as Warner started a drumroll on the wooden floorboards, which everyone joined in on.

"Alright, alright," I held up my hands, "Okay, I'll go…" I turned to Cat, scratching her ear, "Cat, can you get me that cup, please?" I pointed at a scrunched up, plastic pint glass that sat by the stairs. Cat brushed against my hand simply.

"Wow," Warner grinned, "I wish I had that one…"

"Shut up," I snapped, turning back to Cat, "Cat, please?"

Cat looked over to the cup, then back at me. Eventually, she moodily sauntered over there, picking up the glass in her mouth and bringing it over, dropping it in my hand.

"Thank you Cat," I smiled, scratching her behind her ears. Everyone clapped – though Robbie and Warner did it with a heavy hand of sarcasm.

"So… you taught a cat how to fetch?" Robbie asked. Cat looked over at him, meowing in her unamused tone.

"She doesn't like you," I informed him.

"She's not the only one…" Octavio muttered.

We all looked up at Octavio, mouths half-open in disbelief. We grinned as Robbie was lost for words, and burst out laughing. Warner knocked his fist into Octavio's as Robbie began to think hard to try and come up with a retort. It didn't matter – nothing he could say would stop us laughing. Eventually it died down.

"Okay," Robbie looked over at Octavio, "I get that you're coming out of your shell, making friends, and generally becoming less of an… awkward noodle, but let's get one thing straight – _I'm_ the funny one here."

"Funny to laugh at maybe…" I said, looking over at Octavio, who flashed a smile at my solidarity.

"Kenna?" Robbie raised an eyebrow, "Why don't you let everyone see what you can do?"

"Invasion of privacy," She said, sipping her bottle of beer.

"Oh, _now_ you have a problem with that?" She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I can… I can see inside people's heads. Feel what they feel, see or… hear what they're thinking-"

"What?" Hailey stiffened up, eyes wide in shock. I grinned – Octavio shared a similar look. Warner, however, seemed completely unfazed by this.

"You're at peace with this…" I commented.

"Meh," Warner shrugged, "I say what I think."  
"Or you just don't think at all…" I said. Warner gave me a wink.

"Octavio hasn't gone yet," Robbie pointed out.

"Oh… I… it's not… I mean, there's not…" He began to mumble, peeling off the label of his beer bottle once again.  
"What was that?" Robbie said loudly, "Squeak up."

"Don't be a jerk Robbie," I rolled my eyes before looking at Octavio, "Come on, show us what you can do."

We all started chanting 'Oxy' over and over again until he he stood up. Octavio looked around, spying a fusebox by the stairs. He chugged the rest of his beer, standing up and making his way over to the fusebox. He pressed his hand to it and closed his eyes. The lights then began to flicker in a strobe effect to _Cassius_ ' music. The crowds went ballistic! Slamming into each other and screaming with pure joy, enveloped and immersed by the moment.

I've got to say… seeing Octavio be confident like that…

"Yo," Robbie shouted as Octavio came over, "I've got to admit it, that was pretty dope…"

"Nice one bro," Warner knocked his fist into Octavio's.

"So, is it anything electrical?"

"Pretty much," Octavio nodded, "Hi… you're…?"  
"Oh, Hailey. I'm- I'm Hailey."  
"Hailey. Do you have a phone on you?"  
"Oh- yeah," Hailey pulled out her phone, "I don't have data though…" 

Octavio took Hailey's phone and held it for a second. It flashed to life, with a series of browsers flashing through it. He handed it back to her.

"Unlimited data."

"What…" Hailey took her phone, looking at it, puzzled. "How did you do that?"  
"I…" Octavio shrugged, tapping his head, "I just… told it to." 

There was a silence as Hailey smiled – a heart-warming smile.

"Thank you…" She said, beaming at him. I looked between the pair of them. It was frustrating – Octavio was a sweetheart, but… this wasn't him. That wasn't bad, but… I mean, he was my friend. I knew him first.

"Okay," I said loudly, point at Robbie "Your go."  
"Oh, not yet…" Robbie said, looking over to Hailey. "Your turn."  
"Wha… me?" Hailey asked.

"What's wrong Hailey?" Kenna asked, leaning back, "Scared?"

We all ooh-ed, following Warner with his drumroll again.

"Chug the beer – it'll help with the confidence," Robbie said, opening a bottle of beer and knocking it into hers. She sighed, drinking hers with him.

"Okay…" She stood up, looking over to the crate of beers beside Robbie. She furrowed her brow, and then something amazing happened. She started to become transparent – fading into the very air until she wasn't there.

Then, she re-appeared – next to the bottles of beer. She picked up another one as we all starting clapping and cheering. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and gave a shy, nervous bow.

"You can teleport?" Octavio asked in awe, beaming at her. "That's awesome- That's an awesome power!"

I bit my lip, stroking Cat. I thought my power was pretty cool… I mean, teleporting was cool, but Hailey couldn't talk to animals… I looked up and saw Kenna raising an eyebrow at me. And it was now that I took a note from Robbie. I sipped my beer and looked away, while loudly thinking ' _Invasion of privacy!_ '. Kenna smiled.

"So," Octavio continued, "how does that work?"

"I don't… I don't really know," Hailey began to explain, only to be cut off by Octavio, who was smiling like a kid on Christmas

"Well, how far can you go?"

"I don't know; I've never tried going beyond what I can see…"  
"Like Nightcrawler?" Octavio shouted, pointing at her. We all looked at him, lost. "You know? In… in _X-men_ …" There was a long silence, filled only by _Cassius_ ' rhapsodic lyrics. "He… he can teleport…"

Robbie laughed again.

"Such a twat…"

"Okay Robbie," Warner looked at him, "you're calling out everyone else – what can you do?"  
"Me?" Robbie shook his head, "It's… kind of weird."  
"Really?" Kenna raised an eyebrow. "Weird. _Your_ power is weird? After a girl just… Night-crawled?" I paused – Robbie could do what Kenna could do… right? "Wrong," Kenna looked over to me, "Well… kind of wrong. Show them, Robbie."

Robbie stood up, picking up his bottle.

"Okay guys… I'm going to need a hand…" Octavio stretched out a hand, "No, not you; I'm still upset about your mean comment…" Robbie said, looking at the rest of us.

"What's wrong Robbie?" Kenna asked, drinking her beer, "Feeling a little sensitive?" He grinned at her, then looked at Warner.

"Fistbump?" Warner knocked his hand into Robbie, and that's when something happened – it was subtle, but there was a definite golden glow that emerged underneath their skin for a moment.

"Woah, what'd you do? What was that?" Warner asked in exasperation.

"That was me copying you," Robbie said, "I figured it was skin contact that did it…" He stretched out his arms, as if he was getting ready for a run "So, what can you do?"

Warner pointed at an empty beer bottle and held out a hand. In less than a second, the bottle soared through the air like a nail to a magnet, shooting into hand.

"That's sick!" Robbie shouted. He picked up another empty bottle, placing at the edge of rafters. "How'd you do it?"  
"It's kind of like… you just do it. Like picking it up normally."

"What, like this-" Robbie stretched out a hand, but instead of the bottle flying towards him, it jettisoned out over the heads of the crowd, slamming into the stage and shattering into several pieces.

Robbie covered his mouth and crouched down to hide as we all began laughing at this.

"Yo, you've got to practice bro…" Warner laughed.

"This is a pretty good one to hang onto…" Robbie laughed nervously with us.

"So," Octavio began, "it has to be skin contact?"  
"Yeah… like, bare skin has to touch," Robbie explained.

"So… when you mimic another… ability? Do you… well, what happens to the old one?"  
"I don't know," Robbie shrugged, "I can't do it anymore. I can only really hold onto one at a time."

"That's weird…" Octavio said, rubbing his chin.

"You're asking a lot of questions," I noticed, "if I didn't know better, I'd say you're writing an article." I smiled.

"I… I'm not writing an article. There's- I'm trying to work out…"

"He's coming up with theories for how our powers work," Warner explained to me, "Go on, Oxy, tell them your theories," Warner encouraged him. Octavio took a breath, then a swig of beer.

"Okay, well… we can all do something different, s-so, I thought… I reckon that it's… well, it's like hair colour."  
"Hair colour?" Robbie squinted at Octavio.

"W-well, it's like… our genes control everything. A-and, sometimes genes are dormant… so maybe they got… activated…?"

"…Did they?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, by what?"  
"I don't know… puberty?" Octavio shrugged with his usual nervous smile.

Robbie immediately stood up.

"Guys, _Different Creatures_ are playing!" He took Hailey by the hand, pulling her down the stairs with Octavio and Kenna quickly following.

I got up to follow, but Warner called out to me.

"Hey, Maggie, hold up," Warner picked up his letterman jacket, walking over to me, "Yo… I just wanted to say… I was a fucking idiot," He stuffed his hands into his pockets, "How I acted the other day… that wasn't cool." He shrugged. "I'm sorry." 

I smiled.

"You were close with Chloe, weren't you?" Warner nodded.

"Shitty dads… it's not something most people get. They say it a lot, sure, but…" He shrugged again, looking at the floorboards, "she really got it, y'know?"

I smiled; Seeing Warner like this, with all the anger peeled away and being just simple and honest – it was nice. It seemed like Octavio was rubbing off on him as much as he was rubbing off on Octavio.

"Yo, we should probably follow them down there," Warner smiled. As he went to move past me, I pulled him into a hug – he looked like he needed one. I knew Warner wasn't the physical type – not in the same way I was anyway. I felt his arms wrap back around me – strong arms.

There was an awkward cough from behind as we turned around to see Robbie. He walked over to the crate, picking up his bottle of whiskey.

"Just forgot this…" He unscrewed the lid, leaning against one of the cracked pillars and looking at us both with a glint in his eye. Warner shook his head with a smile and walked down the stairs, muttering a curse with a chuckle.

I looked over to Robbie, who was smirking from behind his bottle.

"What?" I asked him.

"Nothing," he grinned. I shook my head – I didn't have the time, nor the energy, to spend on him. I started to walk towards the stairs, "Just surprises me."

I should walk away. I should just leave right now.

"What surprises you?" I turned around. Robbie shrugged, swaggering over towards me.

"Well… you and Oxy had this really cute 'will-they-might-they?' thing going on. And then I see you getting close with Octavio's octavi-bro," He grinned, "Sorry… it's all just so... well, clichéd."

"Clichéd?" I wasn't confused – I was astounded by how much of an ass one person could be.

"Well, we've got the awkward noodle, rebellious bad-boy jock, and they're after the same girl… plus they're friends. It's all very exciting."  
"Mmm…" I nodded, trying to think of something cutting – words always came naturally to me, but now… "So, who are you in all this then?"  
"…Me? I'm the leading man," Robbie said, coming closer to me, "Let me give you a bit of advice."  
"Advice? From you? About relationships?"

Robbie's smirk transformed – it wasn't knowing anymore – it was satisfied.

"I didn't say anything about relationships…" Why did I bring up relationships? I glanced out to see _Different Creatures_ playing, trying to avoid his stare. "Look, you're clearly into Oxy – that much was certain as soon as you saw him and Hailey getting on like a house on fire."

"I'm not into-"

"If you want something to happen, you should make it happen." Robbie said, glaring into my eyes – his smile dissipating. "Don't take your time waiting. I've made that mistake before."  
"…With who?"

This time, Robbie avoided my stare, looking at _Different Creatures_ playing. He seemed to be remembering something very distant… as if he was looking into the past like it was a box of photographs. He quickly shook his head, once again plastering that stupid damn grin on his face.

"Just take my word for it, yeah?"

"I don't-"

"Fine," Robbie nodded, screwing the lid back onto the bottle, "my mistake. Forget I mentioned anything."

I groaned, following Robbie down. He was wrong – dead wrong. No way. Octavio and I were just friends – we weren't even friends. And Warner and I, even less so. He was just being his regular jerk-self and assuming he knew everything.

But I couldn't help feeling a nagging sensation whenever I saw Hailey dancing with Octavio. It was tiny, miniscule, immeasurably small, squirrelled away in the back of my head.

But it was still there.

 **Oooh… things have transpired.**

 **Events!**

 **Drama!**

 **Plot!**

 **Intrigue!**

 **Exclamations!**

 **Please review:**

 **Favourite Moments (in this chapter / in the story)**

 **Hailey and Oxy's friendship (Not a word,** _ **So hard to choose usernames**_ **– you've got too much knowledge of Hailey)**

 **Is Maggie Jealous?**

 **What / Who / Where do you want to see more of?**

 **Until next time,**

 **R.**


	12. Chapter 10: Testosterone Flood

**Hi guys! Sorry for the late update – I've been coming up with ideas for how a sequel would work out… I really love these characters, but I'd have to include new ones… It's a difficult thing to figure out, since I only just decided how I'm ending this story.**

 **Also, I'm toying with the idea of writing a Game of Thrones story… I use the phrase 'toying' because it's very accurate here.**

 **I quickly want to say a quick 'Thank you' to everyone who's sent me messages saying how well I'm doing with this story – it was totally unexpected, and means the absolute world to me. You lovely, lovely people – that's why I'm up at 3:14 am giving you your fix. You guys really make writing an absolute treat, and it means everything. Plus, I'm kinda going through drastic life changes (relationship stuff, she's in another country… it's kinda sucky) so this is a great way to distract myself. I say distract myself – I think it's coming through in my writing… Ahh I can't wait to finish this story so I can tell you all about the tiny little hints I've put into the story…**

 **Enjoy some more Octavio (Thinking up this title was pretty hard… took a solid half-hour and what came up with is pretty bad… but it captures the vibe pretty well)!**

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _You're always so quick to review! Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter… it's Kenna's chapter next!_

 _Well… Warner's not a bad guy… just a bit of a hot-head._

 _Ooh yeah you can. As for the love triangle – I absolutely did not put any subtle hints in this chapter at all… I put some bold ones in, but not subtle ones…_

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _Haha – I could always change my mind further down the line – but I'm not romancing Robbie with anyone – I won't flat-out say why, but there's a part of a chapter that I've planned which explains why. I think Robbie and Kenna_ _ **could**_ _be good together, but the both of them need a friend right now, and a relationship would ruin that. Maybe in the future… once Robbie grew up a tad…_

 _Haha – well, here's some more cute Oxy stuff. And that drama leads us here… roughly…_

 _Thank you so much!_

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Haha, I don't think this one is as 'fan-service-y', but it's very different. Octavi-bro's always a win._

 _Oh, you're gonna love the awkward noodle in this chapter. So much awkwardness…_

 _OhmysweetbabyJesusthatwasagreatpun… I love puns. They're like… conversational candy. A girl once got angry at me for wearing a leather jacket, and she was not impressed when I asked if her opinion could be 'suede'… geddit?_

 _Oh… well here's some more Maggie and Octavi-bro. As for Max… she's making an appearance next chapter…_

 _ **iamgoku –**_ _(ch10) Hailey's the narrator in Chapter 12._

 _(ch11) Yeah – I've been building up to that for a while…_

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _I mean… bro code. Warner has a soft side… deep_ _ **deep**_ _down._

 _Haha – that was just for you pal – since you asked._

 _Interesting theory… Well, it shouldn't matter now… right?_

 _Yeah… it wasn't so much jealousy, just more her being a little bit bitter. Well, that's how I wrote it anyway – interpret it however you do._

 _Dorm fun may be a thing… I think I can squeeze that into chapter…13? *Checks storyline* Chapter 13 could be a dorm thing, yeah. Kenna's the narrator of the next chapter, also._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _Yeah… I might re-word that riddle to make it a bit more accurate. It's kinda vague right now… plus it just sounds God-awful… I'll think on it…_

 _Oh yeah – I'd spend all my time at ATMs… "Money, please!" We see Octavio using his power for personal means here… doing what any teenager would with his power._

 _Hehe… Warner's a mischief-maker…_

 _Robbie may have been a bit of a dick, but I think he got his point across. Also, Robbie's got his own experiences in relationships, which have heavily shaped him into who he is in this story._

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _Yup! Enjoy this quick update!_

 _Ooh interesting…_

 _Of course Warner has temper problems. How could he not?_

 _Actually, that a thing I don't know if I've fully explained in this story – Kenna's power is a two-way street. She's able to receive the emotions of other people and feel them. It's a passive ability, which is why she often hears people's thoughts with very little effort – she's naturally empathetic, which means she's naturally strong with her ability._

 _The reason why Robbie struggled to control Kenna's ability is because with everything that's happened to him, he finds it hard to empathise with people, or relate to them in general. So, the mental or emotional state of the user affects how strong their power is._

 **Octavio: Testosterone Flood**

It was a strange feeling. Walking through those hallways. Now I knew how Peter Parker felt when he was at school – unable to tell anyone he was really Spider-Man. The halls were still the same, the same people still walked down them, but I was anything but the same.

I'd spend a lot of time on my phone – a quick bypass allowed me to go into the school's systems. Warner had encouraged me to do this so I could change his grades – not that I did. Well… I was still yet to.

I flicked through my phone, looking for a new song to put on – I'd given myself a free account of _Spotify_ – it was easy enough, just piggy-backing off of the school router, through other student's phones and laptops… I wouldn't get anyone else into trouble, it was just masking my own signal. And the best part of it all? I just _told_ my phone to do this.

Finally finding a tune to fit my mood, I made my way to my locker, unable to stop myself smiling. It was insane! Like… like I was part of the Avengers or… the Justice League! I wondered if we'd actually have a name for us all… like… the Blackwell Six… or… Arcadian Guardians…

Yeah, I needed more time…

I picked out my book for Algebra, and closed my locker. I quickly turned right to walk away, only to have the locker next to me opened abruptly.

I grabbed my nose in pain – God, please don't let me have a nosebleed. Not in public… that'd be awful…

"Sorry," croaked a British voice I recognized as belonging to Abigail Constantine, from the year above.

"No, it's fine," I said, my voice muffled and nasal, "I- I don't need to smell…"

She bent down, picking up her books. I felt bad – it was my face that had hit her locker after all… I knelt down to help her pick them up.

"Y-You're Abigail…" She looked at me, raising an eyebrow expectedly, "…aren't you?"

"Yeah…" She nodded, "And you're…?"  
"I'm Octavi-Oxy. Call me Oxy," I held out a hand. She smiled, looking at it, and shaking it after a moment.

"Sorry about the nose," Abigail said, standing up straight with her books "You should probably get that seen to…"

"No, it's fine," I re-assured her as I stood up, "it's not bleeding…"  
"Oh, no! I'll have to try harder…" She said, looking genuinely disappointed.

"Try… harder…?"

It took me a few moments before I realised she was joking. Now I got why they called it 'British humor' – only British people would get it. Abigail began to look around – people were staring. I wasn't surprised – the rumours flying around about Abigail were astonishing; She was the daughter of a Detective back in London. Apparently went through a load of trauma – the tale varied depending on who you talked to – some people said her father was a rogue cop, others said she was kidnapped and tortured – I even heard a story that said she killed a guy, and that's why she was sent here.

"You should probably stop talking to me," Abigail instructed me, "People will think you're into the dark arts too."

"…Are… are you into the… dark arts?" I asked, not entirely sure if she was joking… or what she meant by that ominous term of 'dark arts'. She shook her head.  
"No. But, if a girl wears a long coat, doesn't plaster on make-up and listens to rock music…" she shrugged, "burn the witch."

I smiled and nodded – truth be told, I just wanted to get away from her. Her personality was… it was loud – bold. Much like Robbie and Warner, except more aggressive – more likely to beat me up.

"Well, I've… got a thing," I said, trying to construct my lie, "I… I have a…"

Abigail folded her arms, tapping a foot patiently. Oh, crap… I was awful with lies – I went bright red like a lobster! This was why _Abuela_ could always spot me in a lie… Idea! I told my phone to make a ringtone, and it did. I looked at it quickly.

"Sorry," I garbled as fast as I could, "my- _abuela_ -is-calling-I'll-see-you-later-" I half-ran away from her, and down the corridor. As soon as I turned the corner, I took a deep breath – relieved to have gotten away from Abigail. She was kind of terrifying… the cold confidence, the lack of social protocol… at least I tried to adhere to it! Plus, that scarlet trench coat kind of made her more terrifying… I wonder if she ever took it off…

"Yo, Octavi-bro," I turned around at the familiar voice… God, he never seemed to be busy with any schoolwork. "How's my lil' bro doin', huh? Yo, you _crushed_ it at that Vortex party, man! This is what I'm sayin'! I saw you in the pool with that chick…"

"M-Maggie?" I asked, astounded. Maggie was probably… maybe a friend. She was pretty – without a doubt, but she probably got several people asking her out on dates – she was popular, knew everything about everyone… I couldn't think of a reason why someone wouldn't ask her out on a date. "No- no, we're just friends."

"You sure?" Zach grinned, he then cupped his hands around his mouth, leaning around me. Oh God… this wasn't looking good… It looked even worse when I turned around to see Maggie standing at her locker, talking with Kenna Lancaster. 

"Yo, Maggie!" Zach shouted down the hall to her, "Yo, Oxy has a thing for you!"  
"What?" I froze. "No, _callar-_ " Fucking hell, Zach!  
"Yeah, he's got a thin' for you-"

I pushed him into the nearest classroom. Maggie hugged Kenna goodbye before she approached, looking slightly alarmed, though her distinctive inquisitive smile was still very evident.

"Ha, don't… don't worry about him," I cleared my throat "He's-he's a… erm… he's a… liar…" I said slowly – I was the worst liar in the history of liars.

"Aw, so you don't have a thing for me?"

"No, no I do!" I said, taking off my bag, "Wait, _no_ , not like that – it's- I… It's something I was going to put in your box."  
"…To put in my box?"

"Yeah." It took me a split second before I realised what I was actually saying. In that second, Zach exited the classroom, stifling a chuckle as he turned down the corridor. That's when it clicked. "No! Not like _that_ \- I mean, not that's there's anything…" I shook my head, trying to get rid of that tangent, "I meant your box outside your dorm room door. I, ah… I made this." I reached into my bag and pulled out the slender disk, the size of my palm. I handed it to her, pulling the USB cable out of my bag, "You erm… you mentioned you had a virus on your laptop a couple of weeks back, so I, er… I got you that." I paused, watching her expression for any hint of distaste. She moved the silver pebble over in her hand, examining it with that inquisitive, half-vacant smile,

"Yeah, it'll hold a terabyte," I tried to think of more things to say… "A-and it's wireless, but there's also a USB cable plugged into it, so you can just… yeah. I dunno, I thought that was best… in case a virus messed with… but I- I guess I could fix…that…"

I tried to prepare myself for anything she'd say. I ran through all the questions 'Why would you get me that, weirdo?' 'Well, you're cheap – why didn't you buy me one?' 'I don't need your charity – what the hell Octavi-BRO?' 'Octavi-nope! I don't want this'. A million different reactions went through my head – all except this one.

"How… how much did you spend?" Maggie shook her head, "Please tell me you didn't spend-"

"No, it's fine – I built it," I re-assured her. Her mouth went from being a smile to fully agape.

"You built this?" I nodded. "You built me a hard-drive?"

"Yeah…" I paused, looking at her discernible confusion. It only then dawned on me… I'd built a hard-drive for a girl I kind of know… without her asking… "Is that weird?"  
"Building me a hard-drive? Yeah, it's weird…" She confirmed. _Maldita_. I was such a _babosa_. _Idiota_ … "But it's also kind of cute," Maggie smiled slowly, locking her eyes on me as her hips began to swing slightly.

"It is?"

Maggie nodded, biting her lip. We both began to look around at the hallway, as if something was meant to happen now.

"I think the bell's going to…"

"Oh," Maggie said, straightening up, "Yeah, right…"

"So, like…" I picked up my bag, "do you want to… may- no," I cleared my throat, "yeah?"

Maggie narrowed her eyes, shaking her head slowly.

"I'm… sorry, do I want to…?"

"I don't know…" I tried to find the words – I didn't know how people did this. When Warner and Robbie and Zach did this, they were always so smooth and charming… but I didn't know how to bring it up… And there were people all around, watching! "Like… There's the Two Whales- No, that's… that's stupid- this is stupid…" I cleared my throat, trying to mumble less, "Or… there- there's a… gig? At the Abandoned Mill?"

Maggie stood there, shaking her head again.

"Is that a question?" 

I coughed – I could just walk away now. It'd be a bit rude, but it would be less embarrassing than this! Then again, knowing my luck, I'd probably end up tripping up and breaking my nose. Coffee. The Hipster Bean Café was doing some poetry thing – that'd work.

"I'm ah…" Come on, just say the words, "there's erm…" Oh come on, "this poetry… thing." I'm actually a _baboso_ "If you like coffee?" _Maldito_! I just realised: "Or… if you don't drink… coffee, I mean, there's…" I shook my head – coffee was out, "Or we could just like… watch a movie…"

This was why I didn't talk to people. I wasn't good at talking. I liked computers – easy and understandable. Just strands of code which everything adhered to. People were really… complex.

"Do you like food?" Maggie asked eventually. This caught me off-guard. To be fair, anything would've caught me off-guard. The most mundane thing- John Belushi would've caught me off-guard. "That's a… dumb question – everyone likes food, right?" She took a breath, "Look, I was thinking that maybe you and I could go get a meal… somewhere other than the cafeteria… together?"

I really didn't know how to respond to this.

"Oh." Even that – something that wasn't even a word – even that was the wrong thing to say. It was like I had an error…

"You think it's a stupid idea…" Maggie nodded.

"What? No! No-no, not at all! It's great- I mean," I caught myself, "it's cool." I cleared my throat, "That'd be nice." I said, leaning against the wall, picking at the cracking plaster.

"Cool…"

We stood there for a little moment, until that bell finally rang.

"I have class now," I said quickly, trying to get away from Maggie so I wouldn't mess this up.

"Oh, me too. What do you have?"  
"Erm… it's Wednesday - Media lab."  
"It's Monday."

Of course.

"Right… Well, I need to get new books then…" I said, taking a few steps back, "I'll see you later?"  
"Yeah – text me."  
"Yeah, will do," I re-assured her, watching her clutch her books to her chest, walking away to class.

Thank God the halls were clear, because I started skipping, unable to hide my grin. That is, until I turned the corner and saw Robbie Morrigan standing there, sipping his coffee and holding a rolled-up cigarette as he raised an eyebrow.

I immediately stopped, coughing, and scratching the back of my neck. I clasped my hands, looking around to make sure no-one else was lurking around.

"As you were," Robbie grinned.

"Why were you just standing there?"  
"No lesson," Robbie shrugged, "and your little _Sixteen Candles_ moment was too precious to miss." I started to walk past him, but Robbie started to follow me, "One question though. How'd you manage it?"  
"What?"  
"Staying so calm and suave?"

"Bye Robbie…"  
"You're a secret agent, aren't you?" He sneered.

"Robbie-"

"I mean, you've clearly been trained by professionals, because the way that you side-stepped that whole 'put my hard-drive into your box' topic… It chilled me to the bone…"

I shook my head, going to my locker. And sure enough, as I got there, Zach and Juliet were kissing passionately once again – pressed up right against my locker.

Because that sounds about right for me.

"Jeez…" Robbie said, sipping his coffee.  
"Yup."  
"This happen often?"  
"…More than is comfortable." 

We watched them press against my locker – entirely unaware that we were eight feet away.

"How long do you reckon they can keep this up for?" Robbie asked, a slightly disgusted look on his face.

"They come up for air every now and then…"

"Or I could just…" Robbie gestured with his coffee, and popped open my locker door, which swung around, pushing Zach and Juliet away from it. _Then_ they noticed us.

"Yo, bro, why didn't you tell me about you and that new chick?"  
"New chick?" I asked.

"Yeah, I heard you were hangin' with her? The… the shy one, y'know? What's her name…"

"Hailey?" Robbie looked at me with a grin.  
"That's the one."

And as if on cue, Hailey came out of the cafeteria, moving down the hallway behind a thin line of girls – presumably following them to class. That tiny figure in her oversized blue hoodie, with that single red braid whipping around, smiled and waved at me and Robbie.

"That itty-bitty thing is _Hailey_?" Zach brought a fist up to his mouth, "Yo, you sure you won't, like, split her in half?"  
"You're a pig." I responded.

"Well, as much as I love conversations about your Octavi-bone," Robbie said, putting the cigarette in his mouth, "I'm running a little late."

Robbie left the main building, walking quickly out of the double doors, past the closed girls' bathroom. I swapped my books and made my way back to my Algebra class as quickly as possible.

 **I know that this chapter is going to divide some of you… I hope you liked it though. If not… well… thassashame.**

 **Also, I've come up with a quick little list of songs that sums up each character's vibe…:**

 **Robbie – Fire That Burns (Circa Waves) / Naïve (The Kooks /**

 **Octavio – Time to Pretend (MGMT) / Brazil is Here (Foals) /**

 **Maggie – UGH! (The 1975) / Dissolve Me (alt-J) /**

 **Warner – I'm So Sorry (Imagine Dragons) / I Know What I Am (Band of Skulls)**

 **Kenna – Sun – Two Door Cinema Club / Midnight City (M83)**

 **Hailey – Move Together (James Bay) / It's Not Real (Hazel English)**

 **It was hard picking some of these songs, but I had to pick what songs I listen to that help me write each character – gets me into their headspace. Just figured you guys would like to know…**

 **Can everyone who's been accepted into this story PM their character's opinion of Rachel Amber, please? (Everyone except** _ **So hard to choose usernames**_ **)**

 **Now, please review:**

 **Funniest Moment**

 **Octavio's awkward-noodle-ness**

 **Thoughts on Abigail Constantine (silence** _ **iamgoku**_ **)**

 **Anything you didn't like and why**

 **Generally, how adorable is Oxy?**

 **What do you think happens to Kate Marsh? Does she survive, or does she die?**

 **R.**


	13. Chapter 11: Arcadian Imperative

**Hi all! I figured to start this chapter at 3pm… a bit later than usual, but hey – at least I'm writing.**

 **ALSO, I can't believe I didn't say this in chapter 9, but we got past 1000 views! Thanks guys. And 78 reviews in 12 chapters?! That's phenomenal! Seriously, thank you for giving this story a LITERAL, not figurative, LITERAL TONNE of recognition and praise. You're all amazing people. Anyway, since you guys have been praising me, I wanted to praise you all:**

 **This story is quite daunting at times, but you guys do motivate me to write. Literally, I've met so many new users through this story, and you're all so damn lovely! It really does mean a hell of a lot.**

 **So, no negative feedback about Oxy asking out Maggie? I'm glad – it's always a bit weird setting up two characters – if no-one likes it and criticizes it, it puts the writer in an awkward position – because the author thinks they'd have an attraction, but the readers don't… it's kinda strange. But it hasn't come out of nowhere, at least. And I like to think I handled it right…**

 _ **W. R. Winters**_ _ **–**_ _Haha I'm the same – this is how I stay sane…_

 _Haha, Warner gives no fucks… like when he told Oxy he can fly._

 _Ah, trust me, you get past that with age… not to blow my own trumpet, but I've been told I'm as smooth as butter on a bagel._

 _Everyone always says that when I introduce a new character – I don't think I've ever introduced a character and had anyone say 'Oh, they're lovely'… apart from Oxy. But that's because he's Oxy._

 _Well, I'll create an epilogue, hinting towards a sequel, and you'll have to figure out how the epilogue is possible. That should keep you busy for a few months?_ 😉

 _How's that weird? I'm a straight guy who's 23 in a few months – I can think someone's cute like a puppy or a baby without being gay. It's chill._

 _ ***Cue Mark Hamill's joker laugh***_ _You should read this chapter quickly…_

 _ **iamgoku –**_ _What's the craic, pal?_

 _I'm glad to hear that!_

 _Ooh… you're so hopeful. We'll change that._

 _I wouldn't be that excited if I were you…_

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Great! I'm so glad!_

 _His chapters are quite funny… I try not to overuse him. Also 'Robbie the loveable dick' is a very apt description. That's actually a good thing you said there – when I include comedy, each of the boys have very different, typical 'guy humour':_ _ **Octavio**_ _is the classic awkward, nervous boy who's not good at talking,_ _ **Robbie**_ _'s more slick and confident, typically making fun of other people and being very sarcastic, and generally more 'boyish', whereas_ _ **Octavio**_ _is more foul-mouthed and blunt._

 _Thanks! I looked at Tony Stark and basically said "I want to do the opposite of that"._

 _Yeah,_ _ **iamgoku**_ _has used the character in a Young Justice story, I believe (A slightly altered Abigail, anyway)._

 _Ah… you_ _ **hope**_ _she'll survive? Haha… Ooh… Hmmm. Read on._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Come on,_ _ **DONTNOD**_ _, let's make this happen! And there's a chance that when I finish this story, the possible sequel would be based in the same place as_ _ **Life is Strange 2**_ _. Wherever that is…_

 _Haha, yeah, I've been sitting on that one for a while._

 _Who isn't? As someone who went through 4 schools in my teenage years, everyone's infamous for something._

 _Oh, you would, would you? Well… sometimes life chooses a time to pile everything on… Also, it's a story that revolves around 17 and 18-year-olds – how was there not going to be drama?_

 _Zach's just being Zach. Speaking as a guy, we don't always have a purpose behind stuff – we just like fucking with friends._

 **Kenna: Arcadian Imperative**

Being a fishing town, it wasn't that unusual for the Bay to have thunderstorms. Since we were built into the coast, we often had to put up with awful, torrential downpours. However, the rain had been dissipating within an hour, clear skies the next, then back to the thunderstorm. The weather was unpredictable – as were many other things that day.

Robbie turned up at the Two Whales Diner twenty minutes late – which was actually pretty tardy for him. I'd ordered him a latte – it was the only way he had coffee. The Two Whales didn't make amazing coffee – but it was our place. Given how small the Bay was, we'd been to the Two Whales a lot growing up. In the process of making coffee, they used a particular strain of nostalgia that could only be made by the waitress, Joyce Price.

Robbie sauntered in, his hair flattened and wet, pushed back from his face, revealing the heavy bruising around his eye, and a narrow slit in his eyebrow, where no hair had grown. He was attractive – gorgeous, I'd even say. But his personality left a lot to be desired – there was a difference between knowing you're _attractive_ , and acting like you're God's gift to women.

Robbie hopped onto the stool next to me, picking up his red cup and sipping it with a satisfying 'ahh'.

"How late am I?"  
"About twenty minutes."  
"Damn, I was aiming for a full half-hour…" Robbie sighed, "Can I try again?"  
"No luck," I said, picking up my jacket, "what took you so long?"  
"Well, I came across Oxy asking out our favourite reporter."  
"Maggie?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well… I guess… she actually asked him out."

"How'd that go down?" I asked as Robbie held open the door for me.

"Well, there was some mention about inserting his hard-drive into her box…"  
"Grow up, Robbie…"  
"I'm serious. Scout's honour," He said, doing a three-fingered salute.

"Well… Octavio with a Vortex Club member…" I shook my head, "he's coming out of his shell, isn't he?"  
"Like a cautious tortoise," Robbie smiled, "So, how about you? Done any modelling lately?" I shook my head.

"To be honest, I'm just enjoying being a regular student. I'm enjoying some level of normality… you?"  
"Cool as a cucumber," He smiled. Immediately, I could tell he was lying. Though his face was full of self-confidence and slick charisma, I could sense a sort of… stoniness. Like an absence of emotion.

"Have you seen him yet?" I sipped my coffee.

"Who?" Robbie placed a cigarette in his mouth.

"You know… Nathan."

"No- not yet, anyway," Robbie shook his head.

"You're not angry with him?"  
"Oh, I'm angry with him…" Robbie chuckled, "It wasn't his fault but… I can't not be angry at him, you know?"  
"I know," I said, understanding _exactly_ what he meant. To say Robbie and Nathan were friends was to say that… the Rolling Stones played instruments – it didn't even begin to describe them. Growing up, Nathan was always in the spotlight, clinging to the attention and praise that came his way. Robbie, however, seemed to naturally attract it without even trying. There had only been a few times when Nathan had taken the attention away from Robbie, though I'd never seen Robbie act bitter about it at all. Even with Rachel Amber – Nathan was head over heels for her. But she always gravitated towards Robbie – the two of them were inseparable. It couldn't have felt good for Nathan.

Maybe that was why he killed her…

I shook my head, trying to stay out of Robbie's mind. I knew he didn't like me (or anyone else, for that matter) knowing what he was thinking, and I wasn't meant to know as much as I did, but I couldn't seem to turn off my Empathy. It was something I had to manage consistently.

"But you know… being angry at Nathan… that's natural – mourning Chloe and Rachel… it's as normal as we can be right now."

Robbie began to stare at his cigarette, checking it was burning properly, but I knew what he was really doing – he was just trying to avoid looking in my direction. It was something he'd always done since he was a kid, feeling vulnerable. I shook my head again, trying to stay out of his head. But then an image flashed through my head – I felt a surge of nostalgia and happiness, reminiscing at the memory from last year. Then that feeling transformed into a pit of sorrow, taking root in my chest.

"What are you laughing at?" I looked at Robbie – I didn't even realise I had been giggling.

"I was just… do you remember that time last year, when you and Rachel stole two bottles of whiskey from the liquor store?"

"Are you in my head again-"

"You pretended to have amnesia to get out of him calling the cops," I giggled, pointing at him as I remembered the story. Robbie let out a chuckle – it wasn't a legitimate one, but I appreciated him making the effort. "You must have a load of stories like that about Rachel…"  
"Yeah," Robbie nodded, taking another puff from his cigarette, "yeah, I've got a few."

Getting Robbie to talk about his feelings was like getting blood from a stone. I bit my lip – if Robbie didn't want to talk about his feelings, I'd have to at least help distract him.

"So… your car. How's it going?"  
"Yeah, yeah, it's going good," Robbie said, immediately throwing himself into this topic, "I just need to start tuning it up a bit. I just painted it yesterday, actually."  
"Green?" I raised an eyebrow – it was his favourite colour. Well… it used to be. He also favoured purple.

"Not for a muscle car," Robbie shook his head, "It's tangerine with two white racing stripes."  
"Racing stripes?"  
"It's a muscle car." Robbie stated – he'd always loved them. Back in London, he never saw them often – I guess they fascinated him when he came to Arcadia Bay.

We began to approach the campus when the rain clouds pull together as if they were being magnetically pulled by some ominous force at the school.

"What's going on with this weather…" I muttered, pulling out my umbrella out of my bag. As we approached the campus, we saw that everyone was gathered outside the dorms. I could sense something distant… like a panic… but it was different – stronger. It made me stop in my tracks – I needed to get a hold of myself, or this sheer amount of emotion would cripple me.

"Wow, does anyone go to lessons here?" Robbie sniggered.

"No… something's wrong…" I squinted. As we came closer I saw something… a figure on the roof. She radiated a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness… she didn't have anything to live for.

"Robbie… isn't that Kate Marsh?" 

Robbie looked up at the top of the roof, seeing her stand there.

"Jesus… come on!" Robbie started to run towards the door, but I grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"If she jumps, you can catch her."  
"What? What are you talking about?"  
"You've still got Warner's power."  
"What if someone sees?"  
"Robbie, Kate – _Kate Marsh_ is going to jump. We can sort out everyone else later – this comes first."

Robbie looked at me, nodding. We squinted our eyes, seeing Kate turn around, and I could make out that she was talking to someone.

"There's someone else up there…" I muttered.

"Who? Can you hear who?"  
"No… it's…" I grabbed my temples, "it's too loud…"

"Kenna, can you stop her? Can you… do something? Anything?"  
"I'm…" I shook my head, trying to shut out everyone else – the storm of panic and thoughts and cries. It was too loud – I couldn't focus.

"Kenna!"  
"I'm trying…" I looked up at her, trying to propel a single thought. _Don't do it. Step down onto the roof and go down the stairs… don't do it…. Don't do it… don't do it…. Don't do it… don't_ -

Kate turned away from the from the roof, and stepped off of it.

"Robbie!" I heard my own voice become drowned and lost in the wave of everyone else gasp and exclaim. Robbie didn't need to hear me – he stretched out his hands, his jaw clenched, veins popping along his arms as he clamped shut his eyes, panting.

And Kate fell.

And I felt those feelings of sorrow and melancholia stop.

I put a hand on Robbie's shoulder, not quite able to believe what I had seen. Saying it now, I think I was only holding onto his shoulder to keep myself standing; Trying not to think about how I had failed her. I had the power to manipulate people's thoughts, their emotions… what was the point if I couldn't save a girl's life? I wanted to think about someone else's health… I couldn't think about it on my own.

Every second of every day, I'd been connected to everyone – feeling what they felt, and thinking what they thought. But I had somehow managed to miss this… I'd not paid attention to Kate enough. It was my doing… I'd neglected her. I was able to make people do certain things – I'd done it before. I'd made Warner leave the pool party without making a scene. I could've done it again – I know I could have. But I didn't… and Kate was dead because of me.

Robbie straightened up to look at me. He wrapped his arms around me, as we took a few steps back, and everything became silent. My hands hung at my sides and in that moment, I felt nothing – none of the pain, or the panic, or the absolute, sheer torment. I was detached. And though I had been yearning for this – for not feeling every ounce of pain or suffering everyone else had felt, I didn't want this. I didn't want to not feel.

It was horrible. The only thing worse than seeing a girl die before your eyes is not feeling anything when looking at that mangled, bloodied corpse, with her limbs contorted and droplets of rain caressing her skin and soaking her clothes, was seeing it and not feeling any disgust or grief.

 **Okay, so I know this chapter was quite short, but I'd rather post a short chapter than include a load of boring stuff. A couple of things about this chapter:**

 **I didn't want to delve too deep, because it's quite a sensitive topic – and I wanted to be quite respectful with this. Moreover, we don't really know what someone's going through – when someone's depressed, they rarely reach out for help.**

 **I know a lot of you wanted Kate to survive, but as I told** _ **Harukawa Ayame**_ **, sometimes life chooses to just pile it on. I feel that Kate's death was more important here for a few reasons:**

 **As shown in this chapter, super powers doesn't mean you're a superhero. Bad things still happen.**

 **Kate's death helps set the tone for this story – it's about trying to save people. And, sadly, not everyone has a happy ending. Terrible things still happen.**

 **I feel that Kate's death is more powerful. It's extreme, and I know a few of you don't want me to put in that 'awkward, tense atmosphere', but that's not a good enough reason. Now you know that, in this story,** **people are going to die** **– including the character's I've accepted.  
Yup – I've already planned who's going to die. Why? Because if someone has powers, it doesn't mean they're going to save the world.**

 **On another note, if anyone is going through depression (something that I, myself, struggle with from time to time), reaching out to people is the best thing you can do. That's why, I am available to PM if anyone is going through this – I won't ask about specifics or preach – I'll just listen to you. Because everyone matters. Whether you're an awkward noodle like Octavio, a beautiful model like Kenna or an obnoxious self-confident dick like Robbie – everyone matters. You're worth a damn. And never let anyone feel like you're not.**

 **Stay blessed,**

 **R.**


	14. Chapter 12: Deoxyribonuclease Mutation

**Hi guys – took a day to myself. Found out one of my friends is engaged… I'm still get upset when I split the yolk in the egg... This, my non-UK-friends is what we call 'Middle-Class Problems'.**

 **86 Reviews? After this chapter, I should have a new record of reviews for 1 story! You guys are awesome…**

 **So, I started at midnight… that's about 12 hours later than I thought I'd start… but, here we go…**

 **ALSO – I changed Alex's riddle a few chapters back, but it's repeated here, so… no worries.**

 _ **Reviews…**_

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _That's no problem! Hope you like this chapter…_

 _Yeah… I was tempted, but you've got it right – this isn't a story about superheroes. And not everyone lives – people are gonna die in this story… not sure how many… several, though. Also, Hailey will be narrating the next chapter – I wanted to do something different with her chapter – give a lot of you what you've been asking for (I mean, I did just kill of a fan favourite – I've got to make up for that somehow...)_

 _Yeah – well, that's it. People die – and that's the worst thing ever, but, that means when these characters are prepared to face danger – they're_ _ **actually**_ _facing danger. And we, as readers, understand what that means…_

 _Oh, no worries. Now I know why George R. R. Martin does it… becoming attached to a character is a mistake._

 _Hehe, I enjoyed writing the light-hearted scene. You know, life's full of good and bad. Each one exists to balance out the other. Remember – when I give you something good, it's probably because I'm going to try and break your heart next._

 _Haha, well, Warner doesn't really care about rules that much. As for Hailey's phone, it's not exactly unlimited data – that's a term Oxy gave to sum it up – it basically has a skeleton key to every wi-fi hub. So, she can piggyback off of the nearest hub._

 _Well, that's because Oxy's our lil' awkward noodle._

 _Ooh, that was very good – very close… but I've changed the riddle, so… sorry. But A* for effort!_

 _You're way too kind – I'm glad I changed the ending… the original was awful!_

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Yup… I love crushing dreams… it's how I get my kicks. I'm awful. Not in a 'haha, I'm so bad!' way, as in 'your tears flavour my coffee'._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _That's exactly what I wanted! And yeah – that's why I changed the ending – and we see Kate's death affect_ _ **literally**_ _everyone in this chapter. You've got the exact message I wanted to give "you can't save everyone". That's the whole thing – the whole moral of the game, and it's going to tie into this story – people_ _ **are**_ _going to die._

 _And yes, that was Max talking to Kate._

 _Haha… I get what you mean. It's not that bad… not really…_

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Damn… I mean, I'm a little offended, but I mean, at least that shows I care about my characters, right? I changed the ending (so, even though it sucked to hear, thank you – I need to be put in line with my stories every now and then), and I think it's much better._

 _As for Robbie… I tried making him less angsty – it's not necessary to the story, and it's getting to the point of diminishing returns…_

 _And, well… you wished for it. Though, I had planned this for a while, so I don't make a habit of accepting requests… I mean, everyone requested Kate live._

 _There's going to be a couple about a couple of chapters back-to-back from Robbie's perspective – this is purely for terms of plot, and there's not going to be much in terms of his own personal journey here. It's more to relay information to the reader, and he's kind of the only character that I can use for that?_

 _That's not for a while – I need to compensate by focusing on other characters first._

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _Haha, good! Well, in Kenna's form, it says she deals with loss by focusing on taking care of others – something I followed a bit too the letter… I did have a long think about trying to portray her character a hell of a lot more, so… enjoy._

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _Haha, thank you! I'm very glad about this… Let me know what you think!_

 _ **iamgoku –**_ _Haha… yeah… kinda needed to emotionally prepare people for this…_

 _Thank you for being understanding – that's exactly what I was going for, and you summed it up perfectly there –_ _ **"they are not omnipotent… people will die, and sometimes there's nothing you can do".**_ __

 _Oh yeah… these characters are going to get messed up… my bloodlust isn't quite sated yet – more people need to die… I'll only do it if I can do it well though – I don't want to kill off a character just to kill one off – it has to be because they wouldn't survive in that situation._

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _That's alright! And thanks for the congratulations!_

 _Yup… well… Max is only one person._

 **Warner: Deoxyribonuclease Mutation**

Blackwell was different. Worse than when Chloe died – then, it was a freak accident – a tragedy. One we could all feel bad about and say 'these things happen'. Now… with Kate's… with Kate gone… It wasn't an accident. It wasn't like someone fucked up – well, I guess it is. We all fucked up – we didn't make sure she was okay. We had people like Robbie and Nathan and Victoria posting a video of her online. And, most of all, we didn't do anything to help her. Sure, I felt bad for her – the video was funny the first couple of times, but it started to grind on me. It got to the point where I'd be ready to bash in the fucker's skull in the locker room whenever it was brought up.

I mean, the girl was wasted. And she didn't strike me as the type that drank a lot. Maybe that was why… It didn't matter anymore. She was dead. And whether we'd ignored her, made fun of her… we were all responsible.

But some were more responsible than others.

I'd gotten a text to meet Kenna in the Photography classroom – it was the only one free third period. So, I left my RV early, and took my motorcycle to school. It took way too fucking long to get there – with all the bastards and bitches yapping on their phones, checking themselves out in the rear view mirror…

Or maybe I was just pissed off.

I walked into the Photography classroom; Kenna was dressed in a pair of jeans with a cashmere sweater (was it ever anything else?) and a fitted denim jacket, the sleeves pulled up to her elbows. Maggie, dressed in a white blouse with her signature azure cardigan, sat at the table, holding the hand of Octavio, who still chose to wear his fur-lined hoodie, and his faded scarlet snapback. I don't think I'd ever seen him take it off… nor those massive, fuck-off headphones…

"Where's the other freaks?" I dropped my rucksack onto the table opposite them, pulling out a chair to lounge on. It was several moments before Oxy croaked out a response.

"Hailey's getting Robbie… they're coming…"

I sighed, taking out my phone and searching for something to look at – something to occupy myself. Because if I kept just sitting here, I'd break the fucking classroom in half. I stood up, walking over to the wall where a series of photos were hung up. And then I saw it – that class photo. Standing up behind Max Caulfield, was Kate. She wasn't smiling – no-one was, but she looked happier than I'd seen her before. Just goes to show – Blackwell's full of cunts. Sure, there were exceptions, but as I said, we all played a role in Kate's death – whether we intended to or not. I scoffed, taking down the photo and tossing it into the bin – who wanted a reminder of Jefferson, anyway?

"I'm…" I looked over to Maggie, who used her free hand to cover a cough, "I've been going around, giving my e-mail to everyone. I'm writing an obituary for Kate, and I wanted everyone to have an opportunity to say goodbye…" She shrugged – this was probably the first time she'd ever been writing an article and not losing her shit over it. I've got to say, she didn't piss me off like she did with Chloe's obituary.

But she still pissed me off.

"What about the people that pushed her to the brink? Do they get the chance to make up for all the shit they did? Say 'we miss you' and all that shit?"  
"Warner…" Kenna shook her head, looking at me with tired eyes. Her voice wasn't even exasperated – she was just exhausted.

"He's right, Kenna," Octavio said – an unfamiliar confidence in his voice, masked by his frustration, "The video barely did anything – it was everyone who watched it that made her life difficult. You think we don't hear people calling us Jesus freaks because we read the Bible?"

"Not everyone did-" Maggie interjected. True – there were a few people that didn't see what was funny about reading the Bible. Sadly, most people our age will make fun of you for doing anything.

"Well, enough people did," I scoffed, "I'm sick of this fucking school…"

"Chloe… Rachel…" Octavio sighed, a distant look on his face, "now Kate-"

"Yeah, we don't need a fucking re-cap bro…" I growled.

Kenna jumped up from the table – her tired eyes now burning strongly as she thundered towards me, rage and fury sizzled off of her.

"We get it Warner," She half-shouted at me, pulling away the chair I'd been resting my leg on, "You're pissed. Guess what – we're all pissed. I dropped out of that stupid Vortex Club because of what they did to Kate!"  
"Yeah, but-"

"No, shut up!" She bawled at me, "I was there when she died, and I tried to save her, so you don't get to be angry at me, at Octavio, or at anyone else!"

Her voice rung through the classroom and echoed down the halls. I didn't know where to look – seeing Kenna like this… I almost felt like getting up, grabbing both sides of her head and screaming down her throat how I felt. But she was right. I was just venting – and I was doing it to the wrong people.

"You're right Kenna…" I mumbled, looking down at the floor. I picked up my stare, fixing it on Oxy, who looked even more surprised at Kenna than me, "I'm sorry Oxy… I'm a… I'm a douche."

Oxy nodded. It was that nod that only guys do – like, it says 'we're cool' and 'don't worry about it' and 'I understand exactly what you're going through' and 'I don't know what you're going through, but I'm here for you buddy'. All in an absence of words.

Maggie looked up at Kenna.

"Are you going to tell us why we're here?"

Kenna opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted before she even began, as my friend entered the room. Alex Harper.

"Sorry, had to make up an excuse to get out of class…" Alex informed us.

"Harper? Yo, what are you doing here?"

Alex looked around at us – he wore his letterman jacket, which fit him perfectly – like, in all those chick flicks with the quarter-back wearing the letterman jacket, which shows off all the muscles and matched his clothes perfectly? Yeah – he was like a walking Abercrombie model. Fucking white bread, but hey, who doesn't love white bread?

"Where are the others?"  
"Robbie and Hailey are coming," Kenna said, "Now, what is it? Why are we all here?"  
"There's something I need to show you-"

Again, the door opened, and in walked Robbie and a red-eyed Hailey. He was clad in his café racer jacket, with skinny jeans scrunched around his dulled Chelsea boots. His hair was styled in that typical ruffled look – like he was some kind of pop star. He was a walking cliché of a British guy. Hailey, on the other hand, was a great deal shorter than Robbie, dressed in her large, oversized aqua hoodie. She wore a pair of loose, grey track pants over her ratty _Nike_ trainers – you know, the opposite to someone like Kenna or Robbie, who lived in the most exclusive designer brands. Fucking yuppies…

I realised my mistake of thinking around Kenna, as she flashed me a glare.

"Alright, Alex?" Robbie nodded, making his way towards the free table and leaning against it, "What's the golden boy doing here?"

"He's about to tell us. Refused to say anything beforehand," Kenna raised an eyebrow expectedly.

"What, are we doing a super secret candle-lit vigil for Kate?" Robbie asked, bored, as he took out his tobacco to roll a cigarette.

I looked over at him, completely, wholly lost as to how one person could be such a cunt.

"Is that meant to be funny?"  
"Am I fucking laughing, Warner?" Robbie asked in the same monotone. I launched up out of my chair, letting it fall over behind me, but as I took a step, Kenna was between us again.

"Warner, sit down- sit down!"

"Did you hear what he just fucking said-"

"We're not going to get anywhere trying to kill- being at each other's throats. Sit. Down!"

I did as she bid, as she turned to Robbie.

"Stop trying to cause trouble."  
"I'm not trying to-"  
"No, but you are. Now sit down and shut up!" Kenna took a deep breath and let out a growl. "I'm sick and tired of you two – that's the last time I'm getting involved. Jesus…" She shook her head, "I'm not your fucking mother…"

Robbie and I swapped a look – past all the fucking distaste, we were both perplexed – Kenna was usually the cool-headed one. Why was she acting like this? Well, I guess it didn't take a genius to figure out – she felt what everyone felt. And with two deaths in the span of… well, there's a reason Robbie and I stayed quiet.

"Alex? Maybe you should…" Maggie said, her voice fragile and dainty compared to Kenna's outburst.

"Right… yeah…" Alex shook his head, and began to stroke his chin in thought. "Well, in short, I know about you – all of you."

We were all thinking the same thing – I didn't need to be Kenna to figure that out. What did he know? About our powers? If so, how? We all waited in anticipation – unsure of what we would do? Should we just admit it – there's no point in avoiding it if he already knows. But, if he doesn't…

"Know… know what, exactly?" Octavio cleared his throat and failed at sounding innocent.

"Well, Octavio, I know you can speak to machines, I know Maggie can talk to a cat," Alex turned to me, "you can move things with your mind," he pointed at Hailey, "you can teleport," he gestured to Robbie, "You, I'm… well, I'm not too sure…" Robbie clicked his tongue, winking in response with a finger-gun – what a douche, "And I know you can-" Alex turned to Kenna.

"Empathise," Kenna nodded.

"What?"  
"It's a long story…" Maggie rubbed her eye.

Alex looked from Maggie to Kenna, then to the rest of us. After a moment, Hailey nodded.

"Yeah… tell me about it."

I couldn't help but grin at this – I'd forgotten she'd only just met us the other day…

"So," Maggie asked hesitantly, "How do you know all this?"  
"I… I don't really…" Alex began to thumb his chin again. Kenna's mouth dropped open slightly.

"You can do something too…"

"Jesus… you know, suddenly I don't feel so special anymore…" Robbie rolled his eyes.

"What is it?" Octavio jumped to life, "What is it? What can you do?"  
"Well… whatever I write, comes true," Alex reached into his jacket, and produced a small, black moleskin.

I couldn't contain my snicker – and neither could Robbie. However, we quickly shut up after Kenna's glower.

"You can… you predict the future?" Hailey asked in awe.

"Not every time," Alex frowned, opening the notebook, "some of the things don't come true…"  
"Oh, so… you're like every other psychic?" Robbie smiled.

"It's not like that. It's like… I can see a future… it's not always the one that comes to pass…"  
"Right, well," Robbie stood up, grabbing his bag, "I've heard enough. Thanks for the laugh – I think we all needed it," Robbie started to make his way towards the door, but that was when Alex spoke again.

"That riddle that I told you… at your birthday party?" Robbie turned around. "I wrote that."  
"Riddle?" Maggie looked from Alex to Robbie, "What riddle?"  
"It's nothing," Robbie shook his head, "something about swallowing… and destruction…"  
" _The Coastal Town shall be engulfed by itself, Swallowed in an uncontrollable rage, Defended or Destroyed, the Wolf shall not remain…_ " Alex recited, reading from his notebook.  
"See, this is what I meant," Robbie rolled his eyes, "ominous prophecies, vague threats…"  
"What does that mean?" Octavio mused, "Arcadia Bay's the 'Coastal Town', right? But is that rage a… metaphor? And what's that 'Wolf' you mentioned?"  
"Could be… a reference?" Hailey suggested to him, "I mean… Arcadia Bay _is_ built on Native American land…"  
"Well this reminds me of a certain film…" Robbie rolled his eyes with a murmur.

"Usually I can decipher what I write, but this one… this one, I can't."

"You're not exactly helping us here, mate-" Robbie was silenced by Kenna's hand.

"I hate to admit it, but Robbie's right – that's not much to go on…"

"…I stopped writing a couple of days ago. I started drawing instead." Alex passed his notebook to Kenna, who flicked through it. "Just doodles at first, but then I started to recognise what I was drawing…"

She passed it Maggie and Octavio, who mirrored her horrified face.

"That's… that's ridiculous…" Maggie said, as Octavio passed it to Robbie and Hailey. Robbie's face shifted from his unimpressed sneer to utter awe – a look that Hailey reflected, albeit with more shock.

"More ridiculous than you talking to animals like Snow White?" Robbie raised an eyebrow.

"Is that… Arcadia Bay?" Hailey asked in a shaking voice.

Robbie flicked his fingers, jettisoning the book over to me. I caught it with both hands, looking at the pages. They were all drawn in biro and fountain pen, but the resemblances were accurate – I saw Chloe, dead on the floor, as an outline of Nathan held the gun. I turned the page, and saw another drawing – Mr. Jefferson in a jail cell. I flicked through the book, seeing numerous other drawings – a crudely drawn Robbie grabbing the hooded figure (who I recognised as Hailey) in front of a car, a hand outstretched towards the pretty, petite figure of Kate Marsh, who stretched a foot out of the roof…

I turned the final page of drawings.

It was landscape, from the lighthouse. And in the Bay… well, there wasn't a bay. Instead, there was a large, dark pit where the bay used to be. I looked at opposite page, which had the outline of a figure by the lighthouse.

"Who's this?" I asked.

"I don't know… it's hard to… turn it on. And each time, it's something different."

"I don't buy it…" Maggie shook her head, "That could be anywhere."  
"Maggie." I stared at her – we all knew where it was.

"Ken-Kenna? You'd be able to know… with your…" Octavio hummed, pointing from his forehead, to Kenna's, to Alex's.

"It's not like that; I don't get to choose what happens."  
"Happens?" Hailey squinted her eyes.

"She means that she might hear a thought, feel an emotion…" Robbie explained quickly, "it's a bit of a gamble."  
"B-but, it's worth a shot. Isn't it?" Octavio asked. Kenna looked at all of us, and then sighed – she was the only one who would know. Furrowing her brow, Kenna stared at Alex with determination. It was weird… narrow her eyes, the intense expression carved into her face…

It was pretty fucking hilarious, actually.

"Well…" Kenna said eventually, "…it doesn't _feel_ like he's lying."

"Of course, if he knew you were going to read his mind, he might've just pretended to feel like he's not lying…" Maggie suggested.

"Or he's just crazy…" Octavio mused aloud.  
"So, basically, that was pointless?" I asked, frustrated – Alex wasn't a liar – I knew him better than anyone here… at least, I thought I did…

"Great job, guys – team effort," Robbie went for the door again, "I'm going to work on my car."

"Well," Hailey turned to Robbie, " _You_ could tell if he's telling the truth…"  
"What?"

"Yeah… yeah," I began to snap my fingers at Robbie, "Do your… your touch-copy thing."  
"I'm not a fucking puppet, Warner-"

"Look, Robbie," Kenna said, "if there's a threat to Arcadia Bay, isn't it our… our responsibility to do something? I mean…" She turned around to the rest of us for support, "did you ever stop to think that maybe we got these powers for a reason?"  
"If you mention a cape, I swear to Christ…"

"Robbie, just…" Hailey shrugged, "just copy his power? Then you can either see what he saw, or you won't. Either way, we'll know."  
"Who's to say I'll even see the same thing?"  
"Well, it's worth a try, right?" Maggie reasoned.

Robbie sighed. He placed his bag on his table and walked over to Alex. He held out his hand, and Alex waited, holding out his own slowly. Their hands hovered, a fraction of an inch away from each other, creeping towards each other. Until, finally, they clasped each other firmly.

And nothing happened.

Robbie stood there, staring at his hand, confounded.

"Is it… are- are you done, buddy?" Alex asked.

"I don't think so…" Robbie murmured, "I swear, this never happens…"  
"Having trouble performing, Robbie?"

"There's usually this warm feeling – a golden glow… let me try again," Robbie pulled his arm away, shaking his hand for a bit before clasping Alex's again. Still, nothing happened.

"M-maybe you should try using the other hand?" Octavio asked.

"Phrasing," I called across.

"How do you usually do it?" Alex asked Robbie.

"I don't know, I usually just kind of touch their skin, and-"

Robbie was interrupted as a brilliant, golden glow shone from underneath their skin, and Robbie's body contorted and stretched out as he faced the ceiling, all his weight on his toes, his eyes rolling back into his head as he let out a low, rumbling groan, drool pooling out of his mouth.

He stayed like that for a full minute, with Kenna moving forwards. I quickly sprang up, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her back – we didn't know what would happen to Robbie or to Kenna if someone intervened.

We waited there for what seemed like an eternity until Robbie finally dropped back onto his feet, stumbling with a groan, coughing violently as if there was water in his lungs.

"Are you okay?"  
"I'm… he's…" Robbie coughed again, "he's not…" Robbie grabbed onto one of the tables to steady himself, breathing deeply and wiping the sweat from his forehead – he looked incredibly pale, his eyes wild and hair dripped in sweat. Robbie's breath slowed down, and he stood up straight. "I'm okay…" he sighed, "I'm okay."

Then he collapsed onto the floor.

"Robbie?" Kenna dashed to him, holding his head, "Robbie? Can you hear me?"

Octavio grabbed his phone, and in a second, began talking to 911.

"Hi? Yeah, my friend Robbie passed out… No, no, I don't think he did…"

I darted over to Hailey, who had began to take quick, panicked breaths in the corner, eyes wide like dinner plates. Maggie left, running through the hallways, searching for a teacher. I immediately ran over to help Kenna with Robbie, checking his pulse, putting him into the recovery position (something I'd learnt to keep my dad from choking on his own vomit, growing up).

This time, I was going to do everything that I could.

 **And… finished at 2:30am. So, 3188 words in 2 and a half hours… I think that's pretty good. Anyway guys, I hope you enjoyed this update. A little more focused on powers… let me know your thoughts on:**

 **The weighting of the characters (Robbie took the centre towards the stage, but that's necessary for plot – I tried very hard not to be biased).**

 **Alex's ability of precognition**

 **What happened to Robbie**

 **The meaning of the prophecy**

 **Any of those pairings – time's running short, so if you've got them, throw 'em on out.**


	15. Chapter 13: Denial By Commission

**Hiya folks! A shorter update than usual, but you guys are gonna like this chapter. I had to focus on the actual atmosphere of Blackwell, but this is centred around… well, everyone has their own struggles in life. And here, we get a little more of Hailey's…**

 _ **Reviews…**_

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that – when a reader dislikes something, I always get a little upset about it, but I'm glad you gave me the feedback – I do need it every now and then._

 _Hey – character development happens for everyone – I think everyone except Robbie has changed quite a bit – Robbie's still yet to change his character, but that is intentional, and it's brought up._

 _Well… that's the plan. The best laid plan… of mice and men…_

 _Well… kind of… everyone's kind of got the obvious parts…_

 _As for the pairings… enjoy this chapter._

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _Yeah… I mean, there's a chapter that I'm going to have to write later on which is very different in it's layout to what we've seen…_

 _Haha – that's not the bit you should be waiting for…_

 _I did change it – apologies… this one's better. And you're kind of… on the right track… I guess… there'll be more hints dropped about what the prophecy actually means._

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Haha, Warner's so… complex. Very few people are 100% likeable._

 _I'm glad you're not upset about that! Octavio's chapter is up next btw!_

 _I mean… his brain didn't explode… we'll have a proper look-see next chapter._

 _Oh… Arcadia Bay will blow up? I never thought of explosions…_

 _And ha! I mean… maybe…_ _ ***Ahem***_ _._

 _As for those pairings… I did consider a Robbie / Hailey pairing initially, but I decided not to go with it…_

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Yup! And yeah – these chapters are hard to create – mainly because each one is a hint towards what happens in the chapter. It's either a reference to why someone acts this way, or how their power works etc etc._

 _Yeah… I do try to give other characters a decent amount of screen time – after all, they're all very detailed characters._

 _Erm… Neither of these actually – something very different happened to Robbie._

 _Ooh, I do like that – it does make sense with the riddle-prophecy… but no dice._

 _Well, to be fair, an awful thing just happened – I've held hands of people after something awful's happened – to me or to them. When he's holding her hand – it's in less of a 'relationship' way, and more of a 'here-for-you' way._

 _Erm, yeah, Warner and Octavio are_ _ **the**_ _bromance. Haha… no, what you (and many other people) picked up on there is the fact that Robbie is the first person with a power that Hailey met. And, more than that, he saved her life. Imagine feeling alone and like a freak, and then you meet someone who has the exact same power as you, and introduces you to a group of people like you – you'd have an attachment to that person._

 _This is a breath of fresh air, this chapter. Careful though, it's gonna get serious soon – enjoy it while you can._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames**_ _– Okay… I like how in-depth this is. You're getting warmer… but the other half of your theory is veeerrryyy cold. So cold. Like, cold-enough-to-form-an-ice-palace-for-a-runaway-queen… cold._

 _Erm… not really, actually. It gets kind of… weird._

 _As for what happened to Robbie, it's not actually a consequence of_ _ **that**_ _power – it's just copying_ _ **any**_ _power._

 _Haha… Maggie and Octavio… Octaggie? Or… Maggivio? Mavio?_ _ **Mavio**_ _. I like that one. As for Hailee and Robbie, yeah – it's not romantic – like, not in the slightest. I did ponder on that originally… damn – I see that a lot of fans prefer Warner to Octavio…_

 _ **legendsofwoe -**_ _Aw, stop it…_ _ ***giggles***_ _You're silly…_

 _Yeah – I do Creative Writing as a degree so… I mean… this is kinda what my career's going to revolve around (hopefully), so I'm glad I'm good at it… or, at least, not amateurish…_

 _It's cool – it's not like I'm taking this story down anytime soon… Remember, I like reviews like Sterling Archer likes scotch. Or like Rick likes Isotope 322… you know… Mad Max dimension._

 _Meh, I try not to be biased though…_

 _Haha – too much responsibility in my opinion…_

 _Haha – guy humour…_

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _I wouldn't say he's OP… the power's pretty damn OP, but how has he actually been more powerful than any other character? He's actually the worst character when it comes to using his power… And yeah – Kenna's the moral compass…_

 _Yeah – it all depends on what the person interprets it to be._

 _That's pretty similar to what happened… not quite, but you're closer as to why Robbie passed out than anyone else…_

 _You're… almost there. Getting warmer… but nah, I'm gonna have to say you're wrong there…_

 **A little note –** _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too**_ **requested some "Dorm room fun". While this isn't in a dorm room, it's still fun… kind of. P.S. I hate the chapter title… it's sucky.**

 **Hailey: Denial By Commission**

Showers were good for me. It was a necessity for me to shower twice a day – that was the only downside to living in the dorm – communal showers. At least there was a section of the cubicle to hang your clothes – not everyone was as confident to walk around in nothing but a towel.

It was a Saturday – no lessons. A bright and sunny day, with sculpted clouds painting in the distant blue sky. I thought I'd maybe go to the woods – practice my power. It wasn't like there was much else to do… apart from worry about Alex's premonitions.

News about Robbie's collapse spread throughout Blackwell. As worried as I was for him, and I truly was worried about him, all I could think about was whether I'd made a mistake coming here. I mean, last week, a girl was shot, and a teacher was arrested for… doing something to girls from his class. Now, a girl had committed suicide, and a boy had been in a coma for two days with no signs of waking up.

And now there was some prediction of impending doom?

I stood at the mirror, dressed in my hoodie and track pants once again, feeling it brush against my clean skin… it was heaven. I lived in my hoodie because of how it felt – soft and light, yet big and warm. It was the definition of comfort.

No-one else was in the bathroom – at least, no-one except the person having a shower. I did my best no to try and hear them, but I could make out the distinct sound of sobbing – of someone being truly distraught. I knew this because I'd been going to the shower to cry – the jettison of hot water, combined with the echoing hubbub of chatter through the corridors meant no-one really heard you cry – and if they did, they couldn't directly talk to you about it.

However, I was surprised to see who climbed out of the shower – Kenna. Even without any make-up, her golden hair flattened and wet, she still look beautiful – her hair shimmered, as if sunlight was caught in the droplets of water, and each one that dripped from her was like a falling star. Her lips seemed wider, slightly ajar, revealing her perfect rows of white teeth. She was like a sketch – truly, utterly amazing.

Her eyes were different though. Usually so prominent, those dual iceberg-blue orbs that electrified her pupil. Now, the white in her eyes was a scarlet tone, raw and swollen. I recognized the look – most of the girls had shared it over the past few days, since Kate's…

She had been crying.

Kenna wiped her eyes with her fingers, cleaning her eyes as she noticed me.

"Oh… Hailey… I didn't think anyone was here," she sniffed.

"Are… are you okay?" I asked hesitantly – I'd never seen Kenna like this. She was like our rock – always knew what to do and leading the group of us. Now, seeing her like this… it was like everything I thought I knew about people was shattered.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she nodded, "I'm just… you know… worried about Robbie…"  
"Yeah, we all are…" I said, rubbing her shoulder, "But… I'm here… if you need to talk, you know?"  
"What do you mean?" Kenna asked, taking a moist toilette from her washbag.

"I mean… you were there too, right?"

"Where?"

"When Kate… you were with Robbie."  
"Yeah… God I don't know how everyone's keeping it together…" Kenna shook her head, "Chloe, Rachel, Kate… now Robbie-"

"Robbie's not dead." I reminded her. I couldn't help but smile – Robbie might not attend all his classes, but he was definitely smart. Before we'd gone to the photography classroom, I'd helped him work on his car – and by helped, I mean I passed him tools and gave him a rag to clean his hands on. He'd brought up Kenna, and summed her up perfectly…

"What did he say?" Kenna asked. She shook her head, "Sorry, I don't… it's hard not to…"  
"No, it's fine," I reassured her, putting on a smile – well, if she was going to hear anything in my head, at least it's that, "he said that… you're the most selfless person he's ever met."  
"…That doesn't sound like Robbie," Kenna smiled, "he's usually an ass."

I smiled at the prospect of the person who knew Robbie best said that, and began tying my hair back from my face.

"He said that… right now, you need to put yourself first… and that's something you just don't know how to do."

There was a silence as Kenna stared at me – that beautiful half-smile that just made the world stop. It could cure a disease, I swear. Her cheeks were the faintest shade of roseate, against her golden, bronzed skin. Her brows pulled together, like they did when she was concentrating.

"We… we don't have to talk about it… if you don't want to?" I really had no idea where I stood with her.

"No... it's… it's nice," she moved her hair behind her ear, "a weight off my shoulders." She gave another smile. It was only then, when I saw her bare arm, that I thought about her in that towel. It ended high up on her thigh. Those legs that were nothing but muscle, smooth and as golden as her face – a natural tan. I couldn't help but find myself biting my lip in order to… contain myself, as I looked at the towel cling to her body, revealing her curved, hourglass figure…

Aw, crap! I tried to think of anything else – mirrors, showers – not showers, not Kenna in the shower, not Kenna's naked body…

"Enough about me…" She smiled, wiping away her tears with her wrist, "I can cope with this…"  
"No-one thinks you can't… but maybe you should try and put yourself first a bit more…"

Kenna gave another smile – one of pure comfort and appreciation.

"Thank you," she let out a small chuckle, "You're… you're really sweet." She lingered for a while, opening her mouth as if she was about to say something more, but then she turned away, walking towards the doorway. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief – every encounter with Kenna was me waiting until she heard my thoughts and-

"For what it's worth," Kenna turned back to me, "you don't have anything to be ashamed of."

I opened my mouth to respond – but then I stopped. Was she referring to… No, I wasn't like that. I was normal. I was _normal_.

"What are you talking about?" I put on my chirpy tone.

"Come on, Hailey," Kenna let out another chuckle, "I know. Attraction, chemistry… it's all hard to miss – even without my Empathy."  
"Empathy?" I squinted my eyes. Kenna tapped her head, "Oh, right… duh." I shook my head, going to walk past her, but Kenna blocked my path.

"So? Why the denial?"  
"What denial?" I let out a laugh – this was a tad ridiculous…

"Hailey, if there's anyone that's going to understand, it's me."

"Understand _what_?" I said in an exasperated laugh. I tried to keep my mind clear – focusing solely on her face… those beautiful, entrancing eyes- I looked at her face. It was a face. It had eyes. It was a face…

"You know," Kenna checked to see no-one was within earshot, "coming out…" 

The first thing I thought: How? How would she fully understand? I didn't care about her power – she didn't go what I went through. She hadn't had over a decade of feeling like an outcast, of feeling like a freak – being told that… that I wasn't normal.

I mean… I wasn't. Like, I'd… I'd kissed a girl, sure, but who hasn't? Like, every guy's kissed another guy, right? It doesn't make you… that.

"I'm…" I felt myself stammer as I tried to figure out the words, "I'm… I'm not, no, of course I'm not-"

"I can relate to not wanting to announce it – who wants the world to know their business, right? Not that you _have_ to announce it, obviously…" Kenna caught herself.

"But I'm not gay!" I protested.

"…Hailey, it's okay – I know…"  
"I'm not gay, that's awful! Why would you even say that?"

"Because I'm bi," Kenna said casually – like it was just an obvious statement… I guess it was to her… but wait, Kenna was bi? Kenna? As in… she could be interested in me? "And an Empath. This is kind of my niche…"

I began to stammer as I tried to argue back. But it was useless – it only takes one person to tear through the lies. I guess… well, I'd been coping with this for nearly seven years now. And… for the past two years, I'd never felt normal. Now, with Kenna here, tearing my feeble façade to shreds… I couldn't even pretend to be normal… All those years, trying to convince myself I was someone else… what a waste.

I buried my face into my hands.

"My life is over…" I groaned, pressing my palms into my eye in frustration – no, anger. I was enraged at myself for this. I couldn't even _pretend_ to be normal… It was all going to happen again. Like when I told the Abernathy family I liked girls… Jesus, they just tossed me out… said I was unnatural. Like… I wasn't even an animal to them – I was something worse. I was like a monster. I didn't expect them to be thrilled, by they'd been my foster parents for a year… I genuinely thought they were different…

"I'm sorry…" Kenna said, drawing my eyes towards hers, "I mean… for everything that you've gone through."

I felt like kicking myself – I needed to just stop thinking when she was around. I might as well had just been speaking aloud. I felt my ears begin to burn at the attention Kenna was giving me – my cheeks felt like they could cook an egg…

"Listen… I'm not going to tell anyone," Kenna informed me, "I mean… it's none of my business anyway."  
"You- you're not going to tell anyone?" I asked, astounded.

"Why would I?" She shrugged with a slight smile. One that I returned. "Listen… you need to come to terms with it though... people get hurt otherwise – yourself included."  
"Why would you say that?"  
"Because," Kenna took a breath, "I did- I hurt people. I was… God, I was awful…" She muttered, more to herself than to me, "I made people feel unwanted… abnormal… less human. I guess I just wanted them to feel more like me… if everyone's got something wrong with them, being bi isn't so much of a big deal, right?" She let out a sad laugh, "Plus… I had a lot of attention back then. It was like… all eyes were on me… I don't know… I never had time to figure out just for myself…" She shook off the thought. "But, feeling like you don't belong – that's normal for our age."

Kenna gave me a re-assuring smile, and went to move past me, and that was when something else took over – something primal. I didn't bother thinking anymore – why keep going over and over it in my head? I did what Octavio did, what Robbie did, what Warner did - I threw caution into the wind. I leant up on my toes, placed my hands on Kenna's shoulders and kissed her.

Her soft lips brushed against my own – full, fitting perfectly over mine. They closed gently, pressing against mine, and I felt her hands grab the sides of my waist, gently holding me as I balanced on my toes. I felt my throat catch, as sparks flew through my lips, and across my cheeks – small static shocks, like when you take off a nylon jumper in elementary school when you're a kid.

A moment passed, and I remembered where I was, drawing away from her. Kenna flashed the brilliant smile once again as I came crashing back down to reality… without a parachute.

"Oh God…" I whimpered, "I am _so_ sorry…"  
"No, it's fine… it was nice-"

"I'm sorry, that was so… God, that was-"

"Relax, Hailey," Kenna chuckled, "it's okay, don't worry. No-one saw."

"I'm…" I was lost for words – what do you say after that? What's the protocol?

"I'm flattered Hailey…" Kenna smiled, "you're cute… you're sweet – you're so lovely…"  
"But?" I raised an eyebrow. Kenna giggled, and held my shoulders.  
"But," there's always a but… "I think you need to figure yourself out first. But when you do, let me know." Kenna gave me a gentle kiss on the lips, brushing them against my own again, before smiling and walking away, hips mincing as she resembled a model on the catwalk.

I was still glowing red, and my entire body was tingling from those shocks. I had kissed Kenna Lancaster – the model, most beautiful girl in Portland – Kenna Lancaster… Just wow…

And then I realised…

I'd just kissed Kenna Lancaster! Another girl! She was probably just picking up on my own confusion and attraction – she probably didn't even like me…

I shook my head, and did what I knew the others would tell me to do – I stopped worrying. For now, the next ten seconds were devoted entirely to just enjoying the fact that… Kenna Lancaster had kissed me back.

 **So guys, let me know your thoughts on…**

 **Hailey & Kenna**

 **Kenna's past self**

 **Scenes you want to see (only 11 of them left…)**

 **Anything you didn't like**

 **Also, with the reviews from this chapter, we should be pushing to 100 reviews – that's awesome… you guys are awesome…**


	16. Chapter 14: Internal Spacetime

**So guys, after an absence I'm back…ish. It's not a long chapter, but I'd honestly rather give you 1700 words of the standard rather than 3000 words of boring garbage. Anyway, yeah, I've been going through some stuff… kinda 'was in love with a girl, she's now in another country, both trying to move on…' – all that jazz. It's cool – I've listened to a few country songs, got drunk… and I guess I'm writing to escape thinking about it. Hence why I was updating every day – I've only recently been dealing with this. I'm not looking for sympathy guys, but I felt you deserved to know why I haven't updated in a while.**

 **But, I'm happy to say, I haven't forgotten about this story – only about 10 more chapters left or so after this one.**

 **ALSO, I'd like to tell you all, that** _ **legendsofwoe**_ **has started writing a** _ **Heroes**_ **SYOC, called '** **Legacy of the Eclipse** **'. Everyone needs to go and send a character – I'm so excited for it! If you want something like** _ **Life is Strange**_ **, but with a load more locations and more action, go and submit a character!**

 _ **Reviews…**_

 _ **iamgoku –**_ _The last title was atrocious – this one's slightly better, at least._

 _I don't think it will – there's bigger things to worry about. Kenna even said, Hailey needs to figure herself out. However, we do know that they both have feelings for each other…_

 _Well, Kenna's still popular, though she used to be the Queen Bee at the school._

 _Hmm… I don't think I can put more in, but there's going to be a lil' bit of exercise in_ _ **Chapter 20**_ _._

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Yeah – a nice bit of time for them to just be normal teenagers. I felt it was due…_

 _That's my bad – I always keep forgetting that Kenna's meant to be short. It'd be the other way around – Hailey's the taller one. Apologies._

 _Nah, that wouldn't happen – Oxy's getting more confidence (as we see in this chapter), but he's got a long way to go. Besides, Warner doesn't like associating with his dad much._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Hehe… it's all going to shit now. Like… each chapter gets worse now. Not in quality, just in shit going down / hitting the fan._

 _Thanks! Yeah, it was weird, I've never gone through something like that, so I wanted to make sure I did it justice._

 _Oh, we'll see more of her past at some point. *Giggles* I'm going to emotionally wound so many of the readers…_

 _Oh Damn! I totally forgot about that… No problem, I'll make sure to include it. I think I can actually tie in a reason for why she doesn't speak French much around other people…_ _ **Sidenote**_ _: I'm actually learning French. C'est bon, mais je suis en train (?)._

 _As for what you want to see, it is more about them trying to use their powers with a purpose, rather then messing around, as we've seen before._

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _I'm glad. I want everyone to be happy before they cry…_

 _Haha, I'm glad._

 _Well, it's atonement, I guess. Or, redemption? Redemption._

 _We're not going to see much in the way of Maggie and Oxy (maybe a little bit), and we won't see much of Hailey and Warner one-on-one. I'll see if I can add in a chapter, but I think adding a chapter just for the socialisation would mess up the pacing a bit._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _Haha, thank you! Yeah, it kinda revolved around Robbie, and though he would be in the front on the poster, the story is about all 6 students._

 _Yup – funny fact, I actually just came up with that – it seemed to fit well with_ _ **W. R. Winters**_ _' profile for Kenna._

 _If I can put in a scene with them together, I will, but I won't if it messes up the pacing._

 _Yeah… kind of semi-right…_

 _ **Tobi-as-a-guest –**_ _Thanks Tobi! Erm… you wouldn't happen to be related to an artist, would you?_

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Ooh… well, that's great to hear! I never knew that…._

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _Haha, I'm glad. Only Warner and Robbie left… and I cannot see them getting together._

 _Thanks – that was a major concern_ _ ***salute***_ _for me._

 _As for Kenna, yeah, we've all been a dick at one time or another…_

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _I'm glad you enjoyed! And yes, they are going to be using their powers for bigger things… There's going to be a series of chapters which revolves solely around their powers._

 **Octavio: Internal Spacetime**

I arrived at _St. Lewis'_. It'd been five days since Robbie collapsed, and we all tried to visit. Even Warner had come along. Today, I'd told Hailey I'd go instead of her – I hadn't seen him yet. In case he woke up, we needed to be there to hear what had happened to him. I was sure it was something to do with Alex's power.

I had a theory about Robbie's power. Assuming that each gene controls our power, and Robbie required physical touch to replicate the power, then maybe he could change his DNA – tiny, immeasurable amounts of his genetic structure, to copy the strand of code in our bodies to replicate our power. Of course, I had several other theories – but this one had the least holes.

After quickly scribbling my name down on the sign-in sheet (which was already full, so I had to draw another grid), I traipsed through the corridors, past the elderly people being wheeled around – I was careful to pull my shirt up over my nose and mouth as a symphony of coughs followed me through the wide, mint-green corridors. I wondered what actually gave hospitals that sterile, almost chlorine smell. There was a staleness to the air, though it was definitely fresh. I came to his room – number 104. With a smile of relief, I opened the door, walking in.

Robbie wasn't the first thing I noticed. Sitting next to him, her head on his lap, and her hand wrapped around his, was Kenna. I froze, looking at them. Robbie was lying down in a bed, so motionless. I'd never seen him this still. It was like he was… well, never mind. A strange contraption was fixed in his mouth – I think it was helping him breathe. The steady beeping of his heart monitor machine was like a metronome, fixed and constant.

Kenna looked up slowly, rubbing her half-open eyes as she looked at me. She had a vacant smile as she settled those iceberg eyes on me.

"Hey Oxy," she said, her voice quietly rasping.

"S-sorry," I felt my cheeks burn as I focused on her hand, "I… I can come back…"

Kenna looked down at her hand and shook her head.

"No… not like that Oxy," She said in her dream-like croak, "I thought… I don't know, maybe if he copied my power, it might snap him out of… whatever happening to him."

It was strange seeing Kenna like this – she was usually dressed like she was going to a photoshoot, or a catwalk. But she was dressed in a simple sweater and jeans. Her face was clean of make-up, and her hair was tangled and tussled. She looked… well, it was a rare kind of gorgeous; Unintentional. Like she didn't even realise she was a goddess among women. She was the most stunning woman I'd ever seen, but I wouldn't say she was beautiful. Beautiful was a completely different thing. Beautiful was being the technicolour in a monochrome world.

Maggie was the only girl I knew that was beautiful.

"I must look awful…" Kenna groaned, bringing a face up to her face and covering it from me as she chuckled.

"No, no!" I shook my head, half-shouting in surprise, "no, that's… that's not possible."

She moved her hands away from her face, smiling at me once again with those perfect teeth.

"You're sweet, Oxy," she pushed her hair back from her face, "but I must smell awful…"

"Well, if you need to leave, I can- I'll stay. With Robbie."

"You'd stay with the guy that continuously makes fun of you?"

"He's a dick, I'm not," I shrugged, then realised what I'd just said, "Sorry! That's… he's in a- I shouldn't have said that…"  
"It's fine," Kenna grinned, "he is a dick."

I paused, looking at Robbie. I could see his eyes moving behind his eyelids, like he was watching a football game or a film played on the back of his eyelids.

"Do you know what he's seeing?" I asked, intrigued by his eye movement. Kenna shook her head, looking towards Robbie as well.

"No – Robbie never liked me looking inside his head. And now, he's not even conscious. I have some semblance of privacy."

"You know, in comas- I mean, generally, the person can hear others. Kind of… I think. Basically there's this scale to measure-"

"No offence, Oxy, but I'm really not interested right now," She chuckled – it was that nervous chuckle to bypass any awkwardness, but she wasn't joking.

"Right… sorry," I cleared my throat.

That was strange – Kenna never had a problem looking in people's heads before. That's how it seemed anyway – like she was constantly listening in on people's thoughts. I've got to say, it made me feel somewhat ambivalent about talking to her…

"I don't mean to do it, you know," Kenna said quietly.

"Do what?"  
"Empathise. It's not like… you or Hailey or… I don't have days off. It's like you can't stop hearing."

"So," I paused, realising that she didn't just hear thoughts – she felt everything that people felt, "you feel what others feel every day?"

"Every day," She nodded, her eyes fixed on Robbie. An idea started to form in my head…

"But… you can choose not to do it to Robbie?"  
"It's hard, but it's kind of like… facing another direction. Or, listening to someone else."

I bit my lip as I looked at Robbie. I tried to ignore the thought that was constructing in my head. Robbie had been in a coma for several days now, with no sign of waking up. And each night, before I slept, I found myself wondering whether that would be the night when Arcadia Bay would be destroyed. It was terrifying. And… well, if Robbie wasn't able to tell us before then… whatever Alex had predicted was still coming.

Kenna snapped her head towards me.

"You don't think he's going to wake up, do you?"

My mouth hung open – I didn't mean it like that. I was just trying to be pragmatic. If he was going to wake up, surely he would have by now. If he'd been in a coma for this long, he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. He couldn't even breathe on his own…

"Well… look, he's got Alex's thing, right? And it looks like he's dreaming…"  
"He's not sleeping, he's in a coma."

"Kenna, whatever Alex predicted, it's still coming. Maybe Robbie's seeing it now. If he doesn't wake up in time to tell us…"  
"He will."  
"Kenna, you said that if something was going to happen to the town, it was our responsibility to stop it. You know… maybe we did get these powers for a reason… Maybe you could just empathize with him, and… I don't know, get a glance of whatever he's seeing?"  
"Or I could end up in a coma myself."

I didn't actually predict that… I guess I was just pre-occupied with the threat. Everyone suffering that destruction Alex had drawn…

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything…" I sighed. I pulled up another chair, sitting down.

"Do you really think we got these powers for a reason?"

It took me a second to decide how to word it.

"Do you believe in God?"

"I'm undecided." She stated.

"Well, I do. I think that… he does things for a reason."  
"You think everything happens for a reason?"  
"It's better than believing that nothing matters."  
"Just because things don't have a reason, it doesn't mean that they don't matter."

"That's true…" I nodded, "but I think these powers were a gift."

"A gift?"

"I think we were given these powers to help people."  
"What, like superheroes?" Kenna raised an eyebrow.

"Or angels…" I tried to keep the words in my mouth, but they slipped out. Kenna let out a chuckle, then an apologetic look. "Look… Hailey would've died if it wasn't for Robbie… He used his powers to save her."  
"Kate Marsh still died. We had the power to stop it, and we didn't."  
"Having these powers doesn't make us powerful," I informed her, "I mean… just having these gifts doesn't mean that we can do anything and everything. We've still got to use them in the right way… kind of like how Batman can still fight without his suit-"

"I'm just going to say, comic book references kind of… I can't relate to that."

"Well because he has all these gadgets, but they're just to help…. You know what, don't worry – it's not important."

She looked at Robbie, contemplating something. Then she sighed, closing her eyes for a second, and then furrowing her brow, snapping her eyes open and fixing her eyes on him intensely. Her neck began to strain as a vein began to protrude from her forehead. Eventually, her body stiffened, and she gasped for a fraction of a second, staring up at the ceiling, her mouth half-open, and those icebergs in her eyes rolling back into her head.

My heart leapt up into my throat. I found myself unable to move, unable to speak or even blink. My mouth just stayed ajar as I stared blankly at Kenna. I didn't know what to do – I _couldn't_ do anything. Thankfully, ten seconds later, she fell back into her chair, gasping for air, holding her chest. She was pale – very pale, and beads of sweat began to weave their way down her forehead. She scrambled out of her chair, making her way to the toilets, where she clung to the seat, retching violently.

I quickly made my way after her, unsure of what to do. I stretched out a hand to pat her back – well, I wanted her to know that I was there for her.

"No," she spluttered, "my hair…"

It took me a second, but I caught on, and began to pull her golden locks back.

"What happened?" I asked, "Did you see something?" Kenna leant her head against the toilet seat, nodding, "Well, what did you see?" I inquired.

"I…" she shook her head, panting as her eyes began to flicker across the wall, as if she was trying to connect dots.

"Kenna? Kenna, what's happening?"  
"He's living it over and over again…"

"It? Kenna, what's- what do you mean, 'it'?"

"He's…" she frowned, coughing again, "he's dying, Oxy."

 **Dun-dun-duh! Ain't that dramatic?**

 **The next couple of chapters are going to revolve around Robbie, though you are all going to love chapter… 18? Yeah, 18. I'll try and make that one nice and long. Anyway, let me know your thoughts on…**

 **What Kenna saw?**

 **The reason behind Robbie's coma (I dropped a big hint as to the actual reason)**

 **And more theories about the Wolf in Arcadia Bay?**

 **Anything you want to see.**


	17. Chapter 15: Rapid Eye Movement

**Hey guys! I haven't updated in like… what, ten days? Wow… I feel shitty. Especially since this chapter is especially short. I tried another narrative device here – it's kinda cheap though. Anyhow, this is more of a set-up chapter. As I said, there's gonna be a couple of Robbie-oriented chapters coming up, but you can see what I meant by it being necessary for the plot, rather than me just flat-out favouring him.**

 **Just a little thank you to everyone who's wished me well – you guys are way too nice… honestly, I'm fine. Just a little hard to focus on the writing is all, but that's my issue to deal with. You guys need to keep me on the ball with quality.**

 **Anyhoo, onto Reviews.**

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _That's a shame… I was kinda looking forward to emotionally kerb-stomping on the readers… I'll have to find another way to do that._

 _Hmm, no – I mean, Robbie's obviously still got his issues, but I feel like we've spent enough time on that. I'm trying to pull away from the Angst… for the most part, anyway._

 _Very close… You're a bit off, but I'd say you've hit an important point there._

 _Haha – good to see someone's done their research… I can't really say much more (for the whole impact of surprise thing), but good job buddy._

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _It's chill man, don't worry._

 _Hehe, well, I'll be sure to tell you what the actual reason is behind it at some point, I'm sure._

 _Well, Max will play a part in the story. Whether it's a small cameo in a chapter or whether her power comes into play… that's yet to be seen._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames**_ _– Haha, sorry – you're off with that theory. Though… you could be on the right lines… kinda… I mean, I didn't think of that, but I guess it could kind of work… maybe?_

 _Haha, nice catch. Though that isn't the reason behind his coma._

 _Yeah – inn_ _ **Oxy**_ _ance._

 _I'm honestly on the fence with including more Sean… I may be able to… I feel as though it'd be kinda just… sequel baiting, you know?_

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _What's life without a lil' drama?_

 _You've got the right idea – it's not so much about the powers though – in fact, it doesn't even matter what the powers are. But, it's not as important after this chapter._

 _I can neither confirm nor deny._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Oxy's so awkward… it's refreshing to write from his POV. Sadly, he only has… 2 chapters left, I think? Maybe 3…_

 _All your questions are summed up in this chapter._

 _I mean, demand all you like – if it's something that I feel adds to the story and makes it better, than by all means!_

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _Thanks bud!_

 _Hahaha… I think you're closer than anyone else with that theory._

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _That's alright pal! Yeah, Oxy may be a bit of a bitter outcast at times, but he's a big softie, really._

 _Damn, that's actually awesome… I wish I'd thought of that. But, no – Robbie has shown the least control over his powers out of everyone in the story. And there actually is a reason for that – I'm not sure if I've explained that though… meh._

 _I mean… Maggie and Octavio (_ _ **Mavio**_ _) definitely have a thing for each other. However, it's more skinny love at this point, I think. But, I'm playing around with some things… As for the other scenes… there's going to be a series of power-oriented scenes, but not really anything like that. The threat's a bit too big for everyone to mess around._

 **Robbie: Rapid Eye Movement**

Cracking. Splitting apart. Plaster splintered into dust as the wooden beams in the ceiling began to twist and snap apart. Gas hissed from a cooker behind a counter. Glass shattered into fractions of infinitesimally sharp shards. They popped as I felt the fire on the cooker begin to fizz and flicker and spit out. Capturing the clouds of gas, igniting giant infernos and obliterating the entire diner.

I felt the fire crackle up my skin, which began to contract and wither as I felt my flesh sear, the chords in my throat tear and snap as I screamed in horror, feeling the glass slice through me as if I was water, or hot butter.

I fell forwards, but I didn't hit the ground. Instead, I fell into a bottomless pit, past the carpet, the stone, the gaslines, the dirt, and into that eternal, impending darkness that stretched out beneath me, until I was swallowed up into the silence once again.

I stood on the floor, grabbing the sides of my head to keep them from falling apart. ' _Please_ ,' I begged, ' _just stop_.'

Cracking. Splitting apart. Plaster splintered into dust as the wooden beams in the ceiling began to twist and snap apart. Gas hissed from a cooker behind a counter. Glass shattered into fractions of infinitesimally sharp shards. They popped as I felt the fire on the cooker begin to fizz and flicker and spit out. Capturing the clouds of gas, igniting giant infernos and obliterating the entire diner.

I felt the fire crackle up my skin, which began to contract and wither as I felt my flesh sear, the chords in my throat tear and snap as I screamed in horror, feeling the glass slice through me as if I was water, or hot butter.

I fell forwards, but I didn't hit the ground. Instead, I fell into a bottomless pit, past the carpet, the stone, the gaslines, the dirt, and into that eternal, impending darkness that stretched out beneath me, until I was swallowed up into the silence once again.

I gripped my head, crumpling against the counter as I turned to see it begin to happen again. ' _Please, just stop. I don't want to feel this anymore… I want to give up…_ '

Cracking. Splitting apart. Plaster splintered into dust as the wooden beams in the ceiling began to twist and snap apart.

' _Please stop_ …'

Gas hissed from a cooker behind a counter.

' _Just stop…_ '

Glass shattered into fractions of infinitesimally sharp shards. They popped as I felt the fire on the cooker begin to fizz and flicker and spit out.

' _Please, please, please, please just stop_!'

Capturing the clouds of gas, igniting giant infernos and obliterating the entire diner-

' _Stop!_ '

And it did.

Everything stopped.

Then, everything moved backwards.

The giant infernos began to collapse into themselves, as the wooden beams began to twist back into the original shape, before being sucked back up into the ceiling, as the floor began to magnetically pull each other together, the floorboard embracing each other. I looked around, examining where I was. The red booths, blinds over the windows, that long white counter opposite that narrow metal door. I was in the Two Whales Diner.

I recognized the figures around me – Kenna sitting at the counter with Hailey, smiling and laughing. Maggie sat in a booth, nestled underneath Octavio's arm, as he leaned across the table to try and take his burger back from Warner. Victoria Chase sat in the booth next to them, covering her head as ketchup flew through the air, missing her narrowly, and landing on Courtney Wagner's violet streaks in her ebony hair. Max Caulfield sat in a booth tucked away in the corner of the Diner, sitting next to the waitress, Joyce Price, holding her hand.

But no-one moved. It was like being in a photograph, except I was moving. I walked over to Maggie, waving a hand in front of her eyes, which did not move at all.

"Maggie? Octavio?" I asked, looking at them. They still did not move. The ketchup that squirted through the air seemed to hang there, never fully flowing. It was like living in a portrait. Or, being in a tv show when it was paused.

"Robert Morrigan?"

I spun around at the voice, taking several steps backwards as I saw Max Caulfield, now standing in front of me.

"Max? What's happening?" I looked around at the frozen frame we were both in. "Are- are you doing this?" 

Max didn't smile. She didn't seem happy-go-lucky or carefree. She was solemn, her lips relaxed in a stern line, her brow furrowed. She nodded.

"This is what happens if you fail."

"Fail?" I asked, panting, as I turned around to look at everything, still frozen still, "What are you talking about?"  
"I let Chloe die for Arcadia Bay. I let her die to save it… I thought that was enough…" She moved past me to look at Kenna and Hailey sitting at the counter.

"What? Chloe?" I walked up to her, "Max, what are you talking about?" 

Max turned around to face me, her face now melancholy, full of regret.

"I thought I could prevent it. I thought I'd saved Arcadia Bay."

"I don't understand…" I shook my head in confusion, feeling my heart thunder in my throat.

"You will."

And then, Max finally smiled. It wasn't a usual smile – it was knowing, but only to her. Familiar, yet sinister. It was the look of someone who knew exactly how the world was going to end, but wouldn't tell a soul. If I didn't know the shy, weird girl with a camera that Max was, I'd say the smile was cruel and full of malice. But Max didn't seem like that sort. And I'd know if she was – I'd grown up with that type.

"You need to stop it!" Max took a few eager steps towards me, causing me to take a desperate few backwards, keeping the distance between us.

"Stop what?"

"The Rupture."  
"The Rupture?" I looked around at the Diner. "The picture. That Alex drew – that's the Rupture?" Max nodded. "How do we stop it?"  
"Not 'we', you."

She took a slow step towards me, and this time, I didn't back away. She moved gently, her face changing from urgent information, and transforming into stressed brows, large eyes that stared up at me.

"You're the one we need."

She held the wrist of one of my hands, holding my hand out, as she placed a polaroid picture there. I looked down at it, seeing myself sitting next to Kenna, my arm around her as she stared in the camera, an air of a vindictive authority about her. I, on the other hand, looked a hell of a lot more sober than I'd felt the past couple of weeks.

"You've told me before," Max said quietly, "how you wish you could go back… fix everything. If only you'd met me earlier."

"Go back where? When did I-" I began to splutter my questions, but was cut off when I saw the ceiling began to creak and wain. Dust and plaster began to fall as the wooden beams began to crack and twist once again.

"This is your chance, Robbie!" Max shouted, as the ground began to tremble and rock, the lights strobing on and off, screams echoing through the diner, "The Wolf cannot remain!"  
"What do you mean?" I shouted after the darkness, as Max took a step back, being engulfed in shadows, and not re-appearing with the fluorescent flashes. "Max? What's the Wolf? Max-"

I heard awful cracks, and looked down to see, once again, the floor beginning to splinter apart. I looked over to the cookers behind the counter, seeing the flames begin to grow larger, and engulf the Diner as I fell backwards into the pit opened up in the Diner. Falling and falling and…

Stop.

I sat up with a scream, my whole body contracting as I began to bellow and call out in long, agonizing howls of pain, still feeling where the fire crept up my skin, the vacuum inside my chest, like a grip was around my lungs, tightening them from any oxygen. The sterile, white light only served to panic me more as I continued bawling. And then, with that horrific realisation, I began to acknowledge why I couldn't breathe… I had a tube going down my chest.

I began to claw at the tapes on my arms and mouth, then wrenched and pulled, dragged and heaved, hauled towed the long, ribbed tube out of my throat (which I felt begin to constrict as I tugged the tubing out). Eventually, I felt the sweet relief as I turned over onto my side, spitting and spluttering, coughing and vomiting again and again, feeling all the artificial chemicals in my body flush out. My eyes began to sting and water, I felt as though razors had been dragged through my throat, and my limbs didn't properly respond to me. I couldn't remember how to use my fingers… how to hold things. But, then I began to remember – what I'd seen, where I was…

I was awake.

 **Oooh… freaky. The ending is bleh, but tbh, I kinda just wanted to give you guys something. So, please review, and let me know…**

 **Any symbolism you picked up on in Robbie's Vision? (Yup – you all know how much symbolism I lace into this).**

 **How Robbie will play a part.**

 **The obligatory 'Wolf / Theory' stuff if anyone's got anything.**

 **Anything you liked / didn't like in particular and why (I'll try not to repeat it… or repeat it… depending on which).**

 **Also, I was thinking, at the end of this story, I'm going to give everyone the opportunity to ask as many questions as they want about the story. Ranging from fictional characters I used to help characterize your OC's, any music I listened to to help set the tone for a chapter, initial plots I had for characters… how I came up with the story - all that jazz. So, if you guys would like me to include that, let me know. Also, PM me as many questions whenever you want if you are interested. As I've said before, I get all these different ideas, but can rarely share them because of how secretive I get with my stories.**

 **Anyway, bonus points to anyone who can guess what the next chapter will revolve around. I'll give you a clue – it's called Shield and Spear… or Irresistible Force. Anyway, stay lucky.**

 **R.**


	18. Chapter 16: Shield and Spear

**So guys! Another update! I started this yesterday, and wasn't really feeling it, but I'm pretty happy with it now. It's only 2200 (roughly), so about 800 words shorter than the standard, but a lot happens. Power oriented, plot advancing… all great drama is great conflict, after all. So, enjoy.**

 **Only 9 more chapters now… I know I haven't included much Maggie, lately, but I'll be fixing that at some point. Now, I have to inform everyone, the next two chapters will be from Robbie's POV, but you guys are gonna love Chapter 18.**

 _ **Reviews…**_

 _ **iamgoku –**_ _That's alright pal! And I was referring more to the setting of the Diner, who was in it and stuff. But yeah – you picked up on the cracking._

 _Neither, actually. It's more of a Pygmalion Effect if I'm honest._

 _Yeah – gotta reference the original content. There'll be more references to come._

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _This one's slightly longer, I think. I'm hoping to do a pretty long one on Chapter 18, cos there's so much I can put in._

 _Haha, I actually bring that up. Not the_ _ **Bioshock**_ _reference, I actually didn't even pick up on that. That'd be an amazing plot twist though – this is actually an origin story for_ _ **Bioshock**_ _…_

 _ **WhiteReaper4 –**_ _Yeah, I feel like I could've been a tad more obvious with the symbolism…_

… _Yes. I won't say which one, but yes – one of those is the answer._

 _As for your guess for the chapter, you're right… technically. Not what I actually intended – it's a lot more simple than that._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _No, he didn't take Max's power. I'll talk more about the vision in the Q &A section at the end._

 _This one's actually Hailey's chapter. You've got it right though._

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _hehe… just you wait._

 _Erm… sort of. Not really, but kind of. That's just maddeningly unhelpful, I know, but I can't really be more accurate._

 _Ooh, I like that… that's a pretty awesome theory! That'd be a nice bit of symmetry – it makes sense since Nathan's imprisonment is so relevant to the story, and that's kind of the inciting incident… I mean, you're wrong with the theory, but that would've been an awesome ultimatum._

 _Haha, not quite, I'm afraid. It's a reference to the old Shield and Spear dilemma._

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _D'aww. It's okay – I'm actually planning another SYOC to do at some point… I think the next one I do_ _ **won't**_ _be Life is Strange – kinda need a break to think out the story and decide how to set it and so on…_

 _Haha, well, you were half-right… another name for the conundrum is 'Unstoppable force'._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Oh yeah… well, it wasn't really Max. I mean, it was, but it wasn't. And that was actually pretty close – he actually wasn't in a dimension, yet he was experiencing several alternate ones._

 _And yeah – in an certain future, Robbie and Max knew each other with their powers, and the Rupture had occurred, only no-one stopped it. In this alternate future, Robbie often told Max that he wished he could back and change it all. However, if he did go back into time and change it, the future would be different, and he would never have to go back to change the past… if that makes sense?_

 _Haha, no, Robbie didn't copy her power._

 _The Wolf thing… yeah, it's never meant to fully be explained – like, many things in_ _ **Life is Strange**_ _aren't explained. The powers, the dream sequences, the spirit animals, the hurricane and how it's relevant to Max… I mean, in real life, we don't always understand everything, we just sort of… react._

 _Sadly the theory's off a fair bit. Though, you were right that most of the group gathers together._

 **Hailey: Shield and Spear**

Kenna and I hadn't really spoken since the bathroom. The closest we'd come to a conversation was a harrowingly awkward encounter in the corridor. I'd walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth in the morning, but had forgotten the toothpaste back in my dorm, but as I had left the bathroom, I realised I'd already squirted some onto the bristles – I'd forgotten, but I usually did this. I was prepared most days, already in my own routine. So, I stood there in my grey track pants and usual blue hoodie, a toothbrush in one hand, and my wash bag in the other. Kenna had walked down the corridor, and said 'hi' in her usual, cool tone. I, on the other hand, loudly said how I was in my routine, and half-ran back to my room.

It was embarrassing enough without thinking about how she knew exactly what I was feeling…

So, you can imagine how awkward, but also how much of a relief it was when Kenna appeared at my door, inviting me to come along with her to see Robbie in hospital. It was a Thursday – Robbie had been in his coma for a week, with no change.

Neither Kenna or I had a car, so we had to take the schoolbus into town, then walk. Kenna was as talkative as ever, constantly conversing with me about the weather, how Octavio had asked out Maggie, how Maggie hadn't been able to shut up about it – not that she'd want her to. I just nodded, trying to think of something funny and witty – something worthy of saying to Kenna Lancaster.

As we arrived at the automatic doors of _St. Lewis'_ , when Kenna held my arm, turning me around to face her.

"Hailey, can we just… go back to normal?"  
"Normal?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"Look… it's fine. I just-"

I shuddered – I didn't know if I was ready to have this conversation. And if I was, I definitely wasn't willing. Instead, I just made my way down the corridor to sign in to the visiting logbook, doing my best to keep my head free and vacant – the last thing I needed was Kenna poking around in there…

I'd only been here twice before, so I was starting to get my bearings around the place. There was small little signifiers that I was going the right way – water stains on the mint-green walls, chips on the glossy signs.

The first thing I noticed, when I neared Robbie's room, was the fact that all the doors were open – including Robbie's. This piqued my interest, as Robbie's door had never been open before. It was important for his rest, apparently. As I came closer, walking in, I saw something amazing. I mean, a wave of relief washed over me, but I was also pulled under by a tide of shock.

Robbie stood beside his bed, fastening the belt on his trousers. It was strange – I'd never seen him dressed so smart before. I presumed that his guardian, Sean Prescott, had left these clothes. Robbie had told me once that Sean thought everyone should walk around in a suit. Robbie, however, had several buttons of the purple shirt undone, revealing a small medallion – one I never knew he'd had before. His hair was in it's usual messy array, jagged and jutting down across his forehead.

"Robbie?" I heard Kenna say in disbelief. Robbie looked up at her, as if she was a stranger asking for the time.

"Kenna. Hailey," Robbie nodded to us as he began to fasten his watch around his wrist.

"Robbie…" Kenna flung her arms around his neck for a moment, which he calmly responded to with one arm, then took a step back. "Robbie… what happened? Are you okay-"

"How are you awake?" I echoed Kenna's inquisitions.

"I have to go." Robbie stated simply, sliding a plain, silver ring onto his middle finger.

"What- go?" Kenna spluttered. "Robbie, you just woke up, I think you need to rest. Are you even allowed-"

"There's no time for that." Robbie shook his head – no sarcastic grin, no stone-y expression on his face. He was like… if you told me this was Robbie's long-lost twin brother, I'd have an easier time believing that. "I have to see Max."  
"Max?" Kenna narrowed her eyes. "Max Caulfield? Why?"

Robbie's eyes drifted off to the wall, though I could tell he wasn't looking at it – he was a million miles away.

"I don't know…" he muttered. Then he shook his head, snapping himself back to reality. He picked up his dark jacket, pulling it on. He looked like one of those old Hollywood types as he ruffled his hair. Aside from his hair, he looked completely different – like he wasn't Robbie anymore.

Kenna frowned as she looked between me and Robbie. Then she closed her eyes and nodded, as if she just remembered something. And, at that point, another voice joined us.

"Morrigan," Warner stood at the door, clad in his letterman jacket and torn jeans, "you're still alive I see."

Robbie seemed to wince at this.

"Warner, I can't talk to you now, I've got to go," Robbie said, making his way towards him. Only Kenna grabbed Robbie's arm, anchoring him in the room.

"Go where?" Warner asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"I'm going to see Max." Robbie informed him.

"Caulfield." I specified, my eyes still trained on Robbie. There was something wrong here, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Something had happened to him…

"Max?" Warner furrowed his brow. "What's the Camera weirdo got to do with this?"

"No idea." I shrugged, looking at Robbie expectantly.

"In… my dream," Robbie tried to search for more words, stuttering out a disjointed, broken explanation, "she said I could stop the Rupture."

"The what?" Warner half-laughed in disbelief. "You a Jesus freak all of a sudden?"  
"Technically a Jesus freak wouldn't want to-" I began, only to be cut off my Kenna, who had her firm and stern tone on. Less of a piano, and more of a sudden bass.

"Not the Rapture, idiot," she cut me off, looking at Warner, "the _Rupture_. Like an earthquake." She looked at Robbie, falling silent as one of her rounded lips dropped down a quarter-inch, revealing her pearly white teeth. I'd only seen this face a handful of times, but I recognized it instantly, as did Robbie.

"Stay out of my head, Kenna…" he said in a low growl.

"Talk to me, and I will." She responded in a snarl.

They stood there, both of them tensing their fists. Robbie's jaw clenched for a moment, as Kenna's nostrils flared (she even made that look sexy, for God's sake…). I realized then, how difficult it must be to have an argument for her – we all knew that emotions affected her, and I guess now we could see the full extent of it.

Robbie eventually broke his glare from Kenna and grabbed his phone and wallet off of the endtable by the bed, shaking his head.

"I'm out of here…" he went to the doorway, but Warner held out a rigid arm, the hand on Robbie's collarbone, blocking his exit.

"No, not until you talk to us."

Robbie shook his head.

"You don't understand," he hissed, "the Rapture's coming! It's going to kill all of us – everyone in Arcadia Bay. I have to stop it."

"You? As in, on your own?" I asked. Robbie didn't look at me, he just gave a short nod.

"And Max?" Warner asked.

"She told me I could stop it."  
"She- she _told_ you?" Warner asked, leaning forwards as if he'd misheard. Robbie gritted his teeth, exhaling a breath of exasperation.

"In my dream! She said I'm the one they need-"

"Who's they?" Warner pressed.

"I don't know!" Robbie snapped, "I don't know, I'm trying to find out!" Robbie went to move past him, only Warner threw Robbie's arm aside, and let out a forceful shove, sending Robbie back into his bed.

Robbie's anger and exasperation disappeared, pushed out of him by Warner. Instead, he rose up slowly, emerald eyes burning brightly brightly as he faced Warner.

"Get out of my way, Warner." Robbie ordered.

"Not until you talk to us. What happened to you?"  
"I told you everything I know," Robbie let out in his low growl. He went to move past Warner again, but Warner was bigger, and stronger. He grabbed Robbie's arm and held him in place.

"You're not going anywhere until you start talking to us," Warner barked. Robbie grabbed Warner's hand, and after a brief, amber glow, Warner flew out of the room, cracking through the door opposite.

Robbie walked out, unfazed, walking down the corridor. I went to run after him, and ended up behind him a half-second later. It was only then that I'd realised I'd teleported. I saw Robbie stagger a little, coughing violently. I turned around at the banging of wood, and saw Warner tumble out of the room, wiping blood from his mouth. He threw a hand towards Robbie, and in the next moment, Robbie was crumpled on the floor, after being slammed into a wall. Robbie looked up at Warner and growled. I turned to Robbie.

"Robbie, calm down-" Robbie moved past me, eyes trained on Warner as I wasn't even there. The two boys broke into a run, as Warner leapt through the air, fist raised for a punch as he came closer to descending and decimating Robbie like an atomic bomb. Robbie dropped down onto his knee, and launched an open hand to Warner, and before any contact was made, Warner was propelled down the corridor, landing on his back with a recoiling thud. But Warner had his nickname 'Warmonger' for a reason. He got back up, bared his teeth, and flung an arm towards the wall, and a fire extinguisher smacked into Robbie's face. He fell backwards, groaning in pain as he began to stand up, dazed and stumbling. Warner yelled his mighty warcry, and charged, tackling Robbie back to the floor. As he began to launch punch after punch into Robbie's kidneys, Robbie moved quickly. He let out a bellowing cry, and brought his head crashing into Warner's.

Robbie pushed both his hands into Warner's chest, and Warner flew up, hitting the ceiling, and then landing back on the floor, rolling around with a groan. Robbie did the same, holding his face, as Warner grabbed his ribs.

Robbie stood up, leaning against a wall as he began to cough. His face contorted and shifted into one of rage, and he threw an exhausted kick into Warner's stomach. He lost his balance and stumbled back to the wall, slumping against it and sliding down.

Warner stood up, spitting blood out, and raised a fist towards Robbie, but before he could do anything, Kenna appeared, wrapping an arm around his arm and grabbing his neck. The next thing he knew, Kenna had him under her knee, his only free arm trapped under his own body.

Robbie began to get to his feet, but Kenna moved swiftly, throwing a foot into his diaphragm. I'm no martial artist, but I didn't have to be to know that neither one of them were getting back up. Kenna stood up, looking at them both.

"Are you done with your dick measuring contest, yet?" She bawled at them. Robbie and Warner exchanged a look of utter contempt. "Fucking boys…" she muttered darkly, "is this how you deal with every problem? Jesus, you ever think that maybe _this_ is why people don't like the pair of you?" Warner looked down at the floor, disappointed with himself. Robbie, however, stared blankly at the wall as he reached into his jacket, pulling out a cigarette.

"Doesn't matter," he murmured, "we're all dead if I don't stop the Rupture."

"Robbie, just talk to us. We're all going to stop this." She looked at me, for a moment. I've got to admit, seeing Kenna kick ass...

It turned me on.

"After what happened to Kate," Kenna looked at Robbie, "do you really think we're just going to stand by when we can help?"

Robbie lit his cigarette, wiping away blood from his brow – the healed scar had begun to bleed profusely.

"Hailey?" He looked at me, "A hand please?"

I walked over, and stretched out a hand, pulling him up. As I did so, I heard Kenna cry out, telling me 'no', but after a flash of gold, Robbie fell to the ground in fits of coughing before disappearing into thin air.

He'd played me.

I looked at Warner and Kenna, unable to fathom what'd actually happened. I heard footsteps and cries of crowds begin to echo down the hall – clearly we'd attracted attention. Warner sat up, holding ribs, still. He faced me with a frustrated frown.

"Well, go on then!" He shouted, "Get after him!"

 **So, let me know your thoughts on:**

 **Robbie and Warner's Fight (and how Kenna actually kicked their arses in, like, a second)**

 **What's going to happen next?**

 **Favourite part?**

 **Who's past intrigues you the most (from what we know)?**

 **Any criticism / Anything you liked.**

 **R.**


	19. Chapter 17: Temporal Displacement

**Hey guys! Another little update. So, I've become quite slow at updating these, but I plan on trying to do one update a week (I start university next week). Anyway, just a little note to you all about the last chapter – a lot of you seem to think Robbie is too adept when it comes to using his powers. Well, I have tried to slide in some subtle explanations behind it, but I don't know whether I'm being subtle or just way too obscure, but I won't go into it now. I'll address it in the FAQ / Q &A section at the end of the story, but it's not really relevant to this story. All I will say is that it's something that will be a side-arc in the sequel (if I decide to write it).**

 _ **Reviews…**_

 _ **iamgoku –**_ _I mean, if someone I knew had been in a coma for about a week and the day he woke up, tried to leave talking about some 'vision', I'd definitely try to keep him there and talk to him. But, then again, if it's something that intense… well, you can understand Robbie going to an extreme._

 _Haha, it's not quite Batman… I wouldn't even say he's pissed off. It's more just 'crazy hobo'._

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _Ye- Yeah, that was completely intentional. Ahem. Duly noted – I'll try and make it a bit clearer in the future._

 _Ooh, that was never actually in the cards. I always like to put a bit of a twist on the cheesy endings – or try to, at least._

 _Kenna is the badass of the group. I'd say she's probably the leader – even though Robbie takes the stage a fair bit, he's not a leader. Kenna on the other hand…_

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _Haha – exactly! Just… remember you said that…_

 _Sadly, no Octavio or Maggie yet. You'll see some next chapter, and some in chapters…_ _ **20**_ _,_ _ **21**_ _,_ _ **23**_ _and_ _ **24**_ _. I'm still playing around with what the epilogue's going to be._

 _Ooh, duly noted…_

 _Yeah, Hailey's the innocent little lamb of the group._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _We are getting closer to the end… That's why I'm thinking very carefully about what the sequel (if I chose to write one) would revolve around. I don't want to write a sequel just for the hell of it. It would have to create a new story from this one._

 _I don't know… Max hasn't met someone with a power before._

 _Yeah, I ship_ _ **Kailey**_ _and_ _ **Mavio**_ _._

 _Also, it's latter, but good – this is all very important._

 _Haha, that's quite alright. Sometimes I get a bit defensive over my work, but you know what, constructive criticism always helps. Plus, as a reader, I know you can still enjoy something and have some qualms about it._

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _Well… he doesn't start off thinking that. He was told in this weird vision of his that he's 'the one [they] need'. But yeah, it is a cliché, I do know. But, whatever, every story has them, it's chill._

 _I can't say anything about Robbie's use of his powers yet._

… _Okay, I gotta appreciate the pun *Cyber-fist-bump*. Wait, was that a pun? I guess… kind of… while simultaneously a current pop reference… whatever, I'm giving you the CyberBump._

 _Oh yeah, I remember when I met a girl who did Jiu Jitsu and she kicked my arse when we were sparring… there's a fine line between being scared and being attracted to someone… I think._

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _That's fair enough. I may re-draft the story at some point and try and make it seem a little more natural. The general idea is that those two characters are shown to be the most hot-headed and combative. But thank you, kind and gentile sir._

 **Robbie: Temporal Displacement**

I'd never teleported like that before. Well, to be honest, I'd only ever really teleported once before – back when I met Hailey. I guess that was more of a reflex – I didn't even mean to do it. But what I'd seen… that inferno erupting in the diner, engulfing every person and thing inside. The floor being ripped apart and swallowing us… it filled me with something strong. Max's words still rang inside my head:

' _Not 'we', you. You're the one we need._ '

I didn't feel bad for attacking Warner, or tricking Hailey and leaving like that. She wouldn't understand – none of them would. How could they? They hadn't seen what I had seen. I didn't know when the Rupture was going to happen – it could happen any second for all I knew.

I appeared on the grass outside the Prescott Dorms. I dropped onto the ground, groaning in pain. Every part of my brain ached, and I just wanted to curl up into a ball and wait for it to go. But I couldn't – I saw what was coming. I pushed myself up off the floor and began jogging up the steps and striding into the Halls. I didn't bother trying to be subtle or sneak around – there was no time for it. Detention or suspensions didn't concern me – there were bigger things at stake.

"Boy- Boy!" One girl, Mandy Corr shouted, as she darted back into her room, clutching her towel. A few girls shrieked, shouting 'perv' at me. It didn't faze me – I just hoped we would all survive to talk about the awkwardness. Right now, the school rules didn't apply to me.

I found Max's room, opening it and walking in.

Max sprang up from her bed, knocking a mug of tea across the floor. Her eyes widened in surprise as she grabbed her dressing gown, pulling it on over her shorts and tee.

"Wha- Robbie?" Max frantically tied up her dressing gown. "What are you doing-"

"I don't have much time," I walked in, locking the door behind me, "Hailey will be here any minute."  
"Hailey? Robbie, why are you in my room?"  
"I had a vision," I began to explain, trying to keep my voice level and clear. I needed to pick my words carefully and explain simply.

"A vision?"  
"Yes, a vision-" I snapped, "Look, I'm not sure when, but Arcadia Bay is going to be destroyed," I walked over to her window, peering out of the window. It was unlikely I'd see anyone from this angle, but it helped me keep a level head.

"Robbie-"

"I know you let Chloe die to stop that." I cut her off. Her face slowly unscrunched from confusion to pure shock. Slowly she leant back, holding out a hand at me.

"How do you-"

"Because my vision was real!" I said, exasperated. I sighed, rubbing my eyes – I'd have to tell her everything. "Listen, some of us… we have these powers…" I began to explain, "We can do these… things." 

Max let out a small smile, taking a step towards me – even when the girl was excited, she was still somewhat tepid.

"You have a power too?"  
"Yeah, but that's not-" I caught myself, finally stopping to take in what she had just said. "Too? What do you mean?" I nodded. "You have a power, don't you?" She nodded.

"I… I rewind time."

That was… well, that was nothing short of amazing. My mind began to race with so many questions I couldn't even begin to ask. I shook my head, looking around the room. One wall was filled entirely with polaroid pictures, stuck up on there. They were of completely random moments; butterflies, bottles, herself… Some of the shots were incredibly artsy, and others… Well, let's just say she couldn't be more of a hipster if she tried.

I stopped, looking at one picture – one I remembered well; I sat on the lunch table, an arm around Kenna's neck, as she rested a hand around my waist. Her model's pout, and cool look of apathy was contrasted by my own grin, sticking my tongue out and closing one eye. I frowned at this – Max couldn't have taken that picture. That was from last year… before she'd ever come to Blackwell. I remembered that day pretty well – I'd stolen Juliet Watson's camera on Kenna's dare. Nate didn't think I could do it.

Wait. Nate. Max's power.

"That's it," I exclaimed, looking at Max, unable to stop smiling at the thought, "That's why you were in my vision!" I took the polaroid picture off the peg.

"What's why-"

"How did you get this?"

"I… Wait, how-"

"You gave me this picture in my vision! You said… you said I told you I wanted to fix everything." I smiled, looking at picture – this golden opportunity. "Who's the Wolf, Max? What do you mean, they 'can't remain'? Who's 'they'?"

"Robbie, I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"How did you get this picture? You weren't at Blackwell when I took it-"

"I've never seen that picture before, Robbie."

I frowned – she definitely wasn't lying. I didn't need Kenna's power to know that – it was written across her face. Looking back to the picture, I couldn't understand. How did she come by this then? Why was it there?

I would've thought harder about this, but I then realised something. If I could go back… if I could stop Nathan from shooting Chloe… stop Kate from killing herself – save everyone… why hadn't Max done it already?

"You could've stopped everything." I informed her. "You could've saved Chloe. Saved Kate – saved Rachel!"

"Robbie, it doesn't work like that-"

"Why didn't you stop Nathan?"  
"I did, Robbie, but he died!" She blurted out.

I blinked, in utter confusion. My mind went blank.

"What are you talking about?"  
"Robbie, I saved Chloe. I tried to save Kate… I lived a whole week. But… Mr. Jefferson…" She shook her head, her face going completely blank. But her eyes… her eyes were full of horror. I knew that look so well. It was the same look Kenna had when Kate died, the look I had when I found Nathan and Chloe.

"Jefferson killed Nathan?" I asked quietly. "But… what? How? I can stop that!"

"That's not how it works, Robbie. I've tried changing the past, but these powers… they're dangerous; I caused this… this awful storm. I tried to save everyone, but people just got hurt."

"I don't want to save everyone," I told her, holding her shoulders, "I just want to save one person. That's all."

Max brought her hands up onto my own, gently holding them. She sighed and looked up at me, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Robbie… I can't let the Storm happen again."

I clenched my jaw. I was sick of trying to talk to people. They didn't understand.

"How does it work?" I asked. "Your power?"

"I don't-" She glanced her eyes over to the wall of polaroid pictures.

"Is it the pictures? You use them?"

"Why are you asking?"

Her hand still lay on top of mine. I turned mine around and grasped hers. There was a sudden burst of golden from our hands. I immediately fell to the floor, coughing violently. It was like I'd performed fellatio on the exhaust pipe of a truck.

"Oh my God, Robbie! Are you okay?" Max tried to help me up. I picked up the polaroid picture, which had fallen out of my hand.

The picture must have been taken nearly a year ago, back when Kenna was still in the Vortex Club, before Warner had made it onto the Blackwell Bigfoots. Then, the picture changed slightly. It was like watching a film with those 3D glasses. The polaroid picture was like a window frame, allowing me to look into the past. The images started to move for a millisecond, I heard flashes of a noise.

"That's how you do it, isn't it?" I looked up at her. "You have to remember it. That's how you go back?"  
"You- can you do it too?" She took a step forwards towards me, but I took a step back simultaneously, keeping my distance. "Robbie, I tried to save Nathan, and Chloe – it doesn't work," She pleaded, reaching out with her hand for the polaroid picture. Her doe eyes were wide, so aqua blue you'd think you were staring into a maelstrom. "Don't do this."

That was never an option for me. I was given this photograph by Max in my vision. That must have been for a reason.

"If you won't go back," I looked down at the picture, "I will."

"No, Robbie-"

The white frame of the picture began to spread, encroaching over the room in a bleached silver glow. Max's voice began to fade away and echo until it became a memory of a distant noise. I felt the air go out from my lungs. It was like an aeroplane taking off, and you become so aware of the weight of your own body, and the pull of gravity. Except, this time, there was a gravity that was pulling me out of my body, pulling me backwards. I became so weightless, it was like I didn't even have a body…

 **Let me know your thoughts on…**

 **Why Max has that picture?**

 **Scenes you want to see next chapter**

 **Any complaints / compliments about the writing.**

 **See you next chapter! I'm planning on making it fairly long to make up for these past few updates.**

 **R.**


	20. Chapter 18: Chaos Theory

**Apologies for long delay in updating. I wanted to wait until the next episode of Before the Storm came out to make sure I could get the characterisation of Nathan, Rachel and so on pretty well. As promised, a lengthy update – over 4,800 words. We're 5 chapters off finishing this story, so I'm probably going to be taking a couple of weeks between each update to make sure I do the chapters well.**

 _ **Reviews…**_

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _Haha, I'll be tying up all these loose ends at some point. I'm not sure if I'm going to be really cheap and do some sequel baiting or something with them though… I hope you enjoy this update!_

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _I was very tempted to do that, but I feel as though that's too predictable, so I tried to use this just to show how different everyone is. But I wanted to go the other way, and just show how different everyone is, and use this as a way of getting some info across._

 _Haha, of course. I don't agree with the fan theories that she loses her powers if she saves Chloe. Personally, I don't think it makes much sense. That makes it seem like there's some greater force at play, and personally, I don't think there is. It's just meant to be some great scientific phenomenon we can't understand._

 _It's to do with his power._

 _ **Harukawa Ayame –**_ _Haha, yes I am! Haha, yeah – I missed that out… which is kind of embarrassing to admit. I may go back and do some editing on that!_

 _Hehe, no such luck. It was originally just very convenient, but then I started to think about why she would have the picture, and it provided an interesting idea for the story. It's just going to be shameless sequel baiting._

 _I couldn't fit much of Maggie into this chapter, sadly, but she's got more of a role in the next couple of chapters, now that I'm going to be focusing less on Robbie (save one POV chapter)._

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _I was tempted to experiment with that, but I felt that it would kind of make the previous chapters redundant._

 _Well, I would have included Chloe, but I believe she left Blackwell a couple of years before Max joined, so she wouldn't be a student._

 _ **RegaliaAmethyst1313 –**_ _Haha, well, I think it's easy to forget, but they are just a bunch of teenagers. Like, they still have regular emotions that mess with the way they think and act. I would have loved to include more of Warner in this story, but I think it would have been forced and drawn-out. Instead, I'm giving Warner a POV chapter, and it's much more him._ _I think it's the chapter after next if I remember correctly._

 _ **iamgoku –**_ _Haha, well, I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's pretty damn long… took me a while to write (I wanted to do it well)._

 _ **tobi-is-an-artist-too –**_ _Haha, Robbie needs a bit of whiskey in that cocoa. Haha, anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_ __

 _ **WhiteReaper4**_ – _Haha, that's quite alright. I hope you enjoy!_

 _ **Evan Trails –**_ _Of course it won't! I just needed a bit of time. I hope this is worth the wait!_

 **Robbie: Chaos Theory**

Noise is strange. Usually, you're able to hear it coming – whether it's an amp being turned on and whirring at a gig, or the click of a key on a laptop, there's usually a small noise, which acts like a signal for the onslaught of music or voices that follows it. I've thought back to that day often – how I arrived, and whether there was any defining moment that I actually arrived back there.

The only thing way I can describe it is like blinking and finding out you're on the set of your favourite television show, in the middle of a scene. Laughing, general clinking of cutlery and that familiar sound of hubbub and undecipherable chattering. There was no start to it – It was like being dropped in the middle. Like how you arrive in a dream. You never remember how it starts.

I was holding an old polaroid camera – covered with stickers and general graffiti. Juliet Watson's camera. I watched the small square of paper slip out of the slot and hang there, awaiting me to do the signature shake you see on television.

"Rob, take the fucking picture then," I turned around as Kenna leant past me, grabbing the picture and jerking it out of the slot, shaking it with a grimace to me. Kenna truly left me speechless – she looked… well, I hadn't seen her like this in years; Her hair was curled delicately, falling past her shoulders, her make-up done impeccably with those catty eyelashes and hard, cold aquatic eyes jutting out like the icebergs they resembled. She wore a small miniskirt, hiked up, and revealing those golden thighs that shimmered as if she wore stockings. A small, lace tank top wrapped around her flat stomach, underneath a tattered _Levi's_ denim jacket. I immediately recalled she was the figurehead of their campaign now – at only seventeen. I would have smiled at the sight of Kenna when she was still a good friend of mine, but I was overcome with a feeling of horror that crept up my shoulders, as I remembered all the unpleasantness that came along with this persona of Kenna.

She pushed her golden hair back with a delicate flick of the wrist, turning back to talk to Victoria and Courtney; Kenna's hair was cut short at this stage – no golden curls that effortlessly fell past her shoulders. No, instead, Kenna's hair fell down straight, ending in knife-like spikes that prodded against her collarbone. She began to talk with a undeniable tone of disgust, eyes flickering around several fellow students in the lunch hall. She reached into her _Gucci_ bag, and began to pull out her make-up, re-applying her lipstick and mascara as Victoria held up a mirror.

"So, End of the World party tomorrow night," Kenna said, seemingly uninterested and monotonous, though the harsh and purposeful movements of her eyes said otherwise, "Victoria, what does the guest list look like?"

Victoria was caught off-guard, judging by how she frantically scrambled through her carbon copy of Kenna's _Gucci_ bag with one hand, clearly trying hard to keep the mirror stable and unshaking with her other.

Eventually, she pulled out a small tablet, handing it to Kenna, who tapped the screen a few times. How Kenna knew the password, I had no idea, though I'd hazard a guess that everything of Victoria's was also Kenna's by extension. Kenna flicked a finger across the screen again and again, then looked up at Victoria, leaning on one of her perfect, dainty hands as she smiled.

"Vicky," Victoria's face scrunched up with distaste for her nickname, "Aren't we forgetting someone on this guestlist?"  
"I…" Victoria looked to Courtney for help, who offered none, "I didn't know if you'd want her to come…"  
"She's my friend. Of course I want her to come," Kenna scoffed at Victoria's apparent stupidity.

"But… what about what everyone's saying-"

"Do I look like I give a shit what other people say about me?" Kenna scoffed again, "or do I look like a fucking model?"  
"I-" Victoria began, only to be cut off.

"You look like a model, K," Courtney chimed in eagerly.

"How would you know?" Kenna rolled her eyes at Courtney, "your pores could be drilled for oil…" Kenna shook her head, turning back to Victoria, "invite her, Vicky. Or I'll find someone else to take to the Launch party. Maybe Robbie's free then?"

Kenna turned to me, raising an eyebrow. It took me a second to realize I was actually there – I wasn't just watching this, I was a part of this.

"I'm…" I shook my head.

"What? What else could _you_ possibly have to do?"

"Car," I panicked, letting out the first excuse I'd use for everything, "My car. I've… I'm going to start working on a car."  
"A car?" Kenna dropped her head, raising an eyebrow again, "Why don't you just buy one?"  
"Because it's more valuable when you've made it with your own two hands." She let out a loud, musical laugh.

"You're such a pussy…" she gave me a little shove. I looked across the Lunch Hall, my heart leaping up into my throat as I saw her.

She was identifiable by her signature plaid shirt, her torn jeans, but mostly, that vibrant, red hair that burnt through the Hall like a beacon, or a lighthouse. Calling for safety. Those large, feline eyes that scanned the room. She moved with an odd grace; though she plodded through the Hall, walking with less swagger than Warner Monger or myself, she seemed to glide. It was like… do you remember that first album you heard? If you're a music person, you know what I mean – you hear this one album, you don't skip a song, and you feel like you've found something you fit into. Like the melodies you heard in your head have been heard by someone else. Like you've been living your whole life in monochrome, and you find that first speck of colour.

"Rachel!" Kenna waved a hand, giving a genuine smile. "Rach, do you want to give Vicky a smack, or should I?"

As Rachel found Kenna's eyes, then mine, she let out an utterly dazzling smile. It's a rare smile you'll only come across four or five times in your life, if you're lucky. Those perfect teeth, the perfect arc of her lips… it seemed to glimmer. It's like when the sun brightens for a few moments, or emerges from behind the clouds on a particularly overcast day.

I fell backwards out of my chair, scrambling to my feet, and ducking out of the Lunch Hall, half-jogging down the hall, taking shallow and panicked breaths. She was still here – of course she was, but… Rachel was still alive here. She still existed. She was fucking here!

What do you do? What do you do when one of the most important people in your life, who you've been falling apart without, turns up as if nothing's happened? Because, to them, nothing has happened yet? I wanted to run up to her and throw my arms around her. I wanted to tell her how important she was – not just to me. She was everything to everyone. But my legs weren't helping me.

I guess it's more accurate to say that, though I wanted to do all this, what I wanted to do more, was just run away.

As I ran among my thoughts, I hit something – a person. The feeling was quickly followed by the sounds of crashing and cursing. I looked up to see that lanky awkward noodle, standing there with his usual red snapback stuffed hastily onto his mop of chocolate hair. He was missing his nose piercing, at this point, but he still carried his worn rucksack, mended with patches of canvas and duct tape around the straps.

"Oxy?" I asked, taken aback. If I was honest, I was surprised that he was even at Blackwell back here. I'd always assumed he'd transferred shortly before the time I'd met him. But, here he stood, in all his awkward glory, awkwardly shifting from side to side as he looked up at me with his mouth agape.

"Robert Morrigan?" he gulped, "You- you don't know me…" He shook his head, "We haven't met-"

"Octavio," I nodded, looking around, "Look, Oxy, you go into all that comic book crap," I began to speak lower, "I need your help."  
"I'm," Octavio started to look around as well, "I'm not sure what you mean…"  
"Look, Oxy, we meet. In the future, we become friends-"

"I…" Octavio let out a small 'oh' as he hung his head, "you're making fun of me," he said sadly, kicking a scuffed plimsol along the floor.

"What?" I let out the word in little more than a murmur as I began shaking my head, "No, Oxy, I wouldn't do that-"

"Yeah, just like wouldn't TP my room…" he shook his head.

I can't describe how awful it is. The truth is, that even the most honest, unbiased people in the world have a selective memory. There are certain things none of us want to think about – things that we have done that we wished we never did. I'm sorry to say that I had never been mature or responsible enough to make amends – I'd simply tried to forget I'd done certain things.

But I remembered – I'd TP'd some random guy's room, graffitied his bedsheets – I seem to remember taking a baseball bat to his monitor for no other reason than… well, I wasn't very nice. I remember how Sean had paid Blackwell a generous sum to overlook my 'transgressions', and it was ruled as harmless joshing between boys. I guess that's what I let myself believe. It hadn't just been me, so it couldn't have been that bad right?

Just looking at this boy's shattered confidence… I knew I was wrong. Was this why he was still so shy and nervous? I mean… no wonder he'd have trouble talking to people. And he'd still tried to see if I was okay after Nate…

"Sorry Robert, I need to go…" Octavio kept his gaze low, as he began to pack the shattered casings and microchips back into his rucksack, quickly making off towards the courtyard outside.

I slumped against the wall, completely flummoxed. I had to grab the sides of my head, grabbing fistfuls of my hair. I was in over my head with this – the visions of the Bay, seeing Rachel again… ruining a poor guy's confidence like that…

"Rob talking to the Octavi-pope?" I turned around at the familiar voice, seeing him approach. He stood a little shorter than me, his sandy brown hair waxed backwards, with his tight brow and narrow eyes. But his smile… I'd grown up with that smile. I just couldn't return it this time.

"What?" I left my mouth ajar.

"Y'know… on his high horse…" Nathan took my shocked expression for one of puzzlement, "it's fine for him to try and… hack into NASA or whatever freaky shit he does, but starts crying about one little prank…" Nathan shook his head, stretching out his hand.

I ignored the hand, standing up fully.

"What," Nathan put his hand back into his letterman jacket, "have I upset you? D'you want me to run and apologize to your boyfriend?" He let out with a sneer.  
"Ey, let's just leave it Nate, yeah?"  
"Sensitive, much?"  
"You remember how Drew used to say shit to you, and how it made you feel."  
"Oh, this isn't the same…" Nathan rolled his eyes.

"What, because it's not about you?" I spat the words at him.

Nathan was lost for words. I could see from the relaxing of his face, and the gradual change of a glare into hurt, arched eyebrows, I'd chipped away his façade of bravado.

"What've I done, Rob?"  
"Nothing," I hissed, trying to focus on what I was here to do. Stop Nathan from shooting Chloe. Stop him from… I shook off the thought, feeling that beast lurch in my chest.

"I've done something – what is it?"  
"Rachel," I said, trying to figure out a lie that would be somewhat plausible.

"Yo, what? Do you want to rub it in again? Because, I swear, she's sending me some vibes…"  
"No, not like that," I said through gritted teeth, "I just… I don't think she's good news, man," I tried to reason with him.

"What d'you mean?"

"Like… come on, brother," I punched him playfully on the shoulder, "don't let a girl get between us, right?"  
"So, what – you'd drop her as well? For me?" Nate nodded, unimpressed as he leant backwards.

The honest answer was no. I definitely would not. But, if it meant she'd survive, I'd never look at her again. Just knowing she was there… hearing a little story about her, or someone gushing over her… that'd be enough for me. I don't know if I'd be happy or content with it, but I know that'd be enough to justify the pain of never seeing her again. At least, this way, she was still alive.

"Yeah," I nodded, "Look… I know I can be a dick," I scratched the back of my head, "but… you're my brother. I want to be there for you every step of the way. You know, you're the closest thing to family I have here. And… I don't know, I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me."

Nathan looked me up and down with caution, then focused on my eyes, examining them with careful attention to detail.

"Are you high?"  
"What?"  
"You been skinning up without me again?"  
"Wha- no!"  
"You sure?"  
"Of course I'm sure," I gave him a shove.

"Come on, let's go. It's English."

We began to make our way through the school, but I had to stop for a second, noticing another friend… well, they weren't a friend _yet_ …

Maggie looked incredibly younger. It may have been a year ago, but she looked half a decade younger; more fat was held inside her cheeks, her hair was thinner and reached past her shoulders. She clutched her laptop closely to her chest, her usual narrowed eyes scanning the hallways. A year ago, she was still just as inquisitive.

"Yeah," I said to Nathan, waving a hand, "yeah, I'll see you there… No," I shook my head, turning to him, "no, I'm going to give it a miss. Probably head out somewhere, you know? You want to tag along?"

"I… No. You know dad's been getting kind of… well, you know." 

I nodded, remembering how overbearing Sean could be – even more so to Nathan than he ever was to me. I could understand Nathan not wanting to make his own life more difficult.

After knocking my fist into Nathan's, I looked back to Maggie, who had begun babbling in French to one of the girls that was in the year above us. I still couldn't get over how much she'd changed – it was so, so surreal. I found my legs pulling myself across the corridor until I finally came within inches of her. However, I failed to form any words. Maggie simply examined me as if she was out of the loop on something. Well, she was actually, come to think of it.

"Yes, Robbie?" Maggie asked politely, "Can I help you with something?"  
"I'm…" I couldn't tear my eyes away from her – she nearly looked like an entirely different person. She even sounded different – her voice was quieter, slightly meeker, almost. Before I could even try to find the words to finish my sentence, someone came out of the lunch hall. Her ruby hair pulsating like neon under the fluorescents told me who it was – Rachel. My heart lunged up into my throat again as her hips swayed from side to side as she made her way towards me and Maggie.

"Nothing – thought you were someone else," I garbled the words, turning away and trying to get the fuck out of there.

I'm not sure how I ended up in the office. It was where I'd been sent in the days following Chloe's death – the guidance councillor's office. Those four supposedly secret-securing walls, a small desk that held a computer, pamphlets about depression, anxiety, bulimia and PTSD and a small box of tissues.

I closed the door behind me, trying to catch my breath. My lungs began to swell with as much oxygen as humanly possible. To see Rachel again, after accepting the reality that she wasn't here anymore – it was overwhelming to say the least. It was like I was caught in this wave that swept down beneath the surface, and my lungs were simultaneously empty, and about to burst.

I turned around to see the door handle creak open, and in walked Ms. John, a sweet young woman who had been working here since the year I joined. And behind her, was a girl that looked vaguely familiar.

I held up a hand, and opened my mouth. Truth be told, I'm not exactly sure what I was going to say. Maybe I was going to say I was in here my accident. Maybe I was just going to tell them to get lost. It's hard to say.

But, before I could inhale to speak, I saw the door pull backwards, as Ms. John's eyes turn away from me, speaking in a garbled language. The surprise faded from her face as she began to walk backwards, closing the door.

I pulled my hand back, watching the door open again as Ms. John gave me the same surprised expression.

"Robert! Do I have an appointment with you?"  
"No, I…" I shook my head, examining the girl behind Ms. John. It was a girl I'd seen a handful of times around Blackwell. She was pretty, if I used the word 'pretty' loosely. Her hair was simple, with strands curtaining a heart-shaped face. I remembered from the signature red trench coat that it was Abigail Constantine – after all, I used to steal the jacket and hide it to upset her, back when I was perpetually stoned. The only thing that struck a chord with me, was her eyes. Stinging, and puffy. Not like she had just been crying, but like she had been weeping and sobbing and bawling.

I held up a hand, and watched Ms. John's garble back her words, the surprise fade from her face once again, and then pull the door, walking backwards out of the room and closing the door. After a minute or so, I lowered my hand again, looking at it as if it was some new-fangled piece of technology. I suppose, to me, it was.

Looking around, I saw the supply cupboard, and wrenched it open, seeing enough space for me to crouch. I ducked inside, pulling the door closed behind me. I guess it was because… well, I didn't want to see Abigail and be reminded of how much I'd hurt people.

I heard that door creak open again for a third time, followed by footsteps.

"Just take a seat, Abigail," I heard Ms. John speak, "So, have you talked to anyone about it lately?"  
"No," Abigail answered – I'd forgotten her accent. She was a Londoner – distinctly from the Northside, same as I. But she was noticeably less well-spoken.

"And why is that, Abigail?"

"They… who would understand?" Abigail asked, letting out a small, hysterical laugh of exasperation, "who could possibly understand?"  
"When you say, understand, are you referring to what happened in your childhood? With…" I heard a flurry of sheets of paper, "Kurt Leicester-"  
"Lanchester," Abigail answered abruptly, correcting Ms. John. I opened the door a creak, peeking out at them.

"…I have Leicester down here…"

"It's Lanchester," Abigail tugged at her sleeve, pulling it up. The room was lit enough that I could make out the patches of white on her inner forearm – the same space I had my tattoo, "I'm not likely to forget his name."

I saw Abigail pull the sleeve of her trench coat back down. I immediately felt my stomach tighten, and bile leak from my tongue and into my mouth. The way I'd treated Abigail… I felt awful. Disgusting, even.

"Lately I've been feeling like…" Abigail coughed, her face hardening as she took a shaking breath "I think I have psychosis."  
"That's a… very serious diagnosis, Abigail," Ms. John stuttered, "what makes you think this?"

"It's like… I've seen things move. The ground, trees, rocks… they all move when I want them to."

Ms. John gave Abigail that understanding smile therapists and psychologists give you: like they know exactly what you mean, but have no fucking clue.

"What you suffered was awful. It's no surprise you'll want to regain some degree of… well, control-"

"It happened when I was ten. This is happening now – it's not linked."

"You're obviously a very smart girl, Abigail. Your grades speak for themselves. Maybe it's an overactive imagination-"  
"I knew you wouldn't understand," Abigail shook her head, standing up and grabbing her rucksack, "it's all in my head. I can deal with this."

"No, Abigail," Ms. John caught Abigail before she could leave, "I'm here to listen to you."

Abigail sighed, pulling back a strand of golden hair and tucking it behind her ear.

"When I get upset… rocks break. Trees break, the ground… breaks."

"Abigail, dear… what you're talking about just isn't possible."

As Abigail pulled her arm free of Ms. John's grip and stormed away, I jerked the cupboard door closed, afraid she may notice where I had been hiding. Luckily, she was pre-occupied, and marched out.

"Wait, Abigail…" I heard Ms. John rise from her chair and leave through the door after Abigail.

I took this moment to leave the cupboard and the office, taking care that neither Abigail or Ms. John saw me.

As I stumbled out of the academy in a daze, I couldn't help but wonder about this. What was it about Blackwell? We were all able to do amazing things… how? Was it all some part of destiny, or some plan? I'd never really believed in God, but… what if this was all part of something bigger than… well, everything?

My first instinct to deal with this… confusion, was to go to the garage and work on my car, but at this time, I was yet to even buy the frame of a vintage Cadillac. I hadn't even found the steering wheel, which was when I actually decided to start building the car.

Then I found the next best thing – I might not be able to work on my car, but I could mess around with another one.

I quickly made my way to the bus stop, checking my phone for the time. Funny, back here, my phone was still sleek and shining, yet to suffer a single crack or scratch. Perfectly unscathed. I guess my phone really started to suffer when Rachel went missing.

It took little more than ten minutes to get to the junkyard. Old, rusted mountains of cars were scattered, with the odd car or truck sitting in the clearings, where only dust blanketed the floor. It was just as I remembered it.

I made my way to the bed of a truck – I used to come here to get high with Rachel and Nate every now and then – it was actually always Rachel's idea. Nate always preferred to stay somewhere warm, like in our rooms, where we could watch _South Park_ or something and eat crisps. Rachel, however, insisted that we go out every night. She once told me, 'every day's an opportunity, so blow it up every day'.

So, at Rachel's insistence, we'd set up a little hang-out here. We knew that other students and townies used our hang-out, but it didn't bother us too much. It was still _ours_. We'd removed the chairs from nearby cars and placed them around the red, creaking truck. We'd removed the two remaining wheels, and stacked them on top of each other, forming a crude stool.

Reaching into my pockets was strange – I forgot how much hash I carried around with me. I used to be so particular about what I smoked – I still wanted to be able to function, I just wanted to be mellow. As soon as Rachel left, I didn't care what I smoked, I just didn't want to be fully conscious. And then after Nate… I guess I needed to be high or stoned or drunk just to cope with thinking about everything. I know it's pathetic, really, I do, but there was no alternative for me.

I took out the bag, and started to roll. I needed to be calm to think through what I had to do.

"Someone's being greedy," A voice chimed as I saw the purple painted fingernails first, as a hand reached out and took the spliff from my mouth, leather bangles and steel chains swinging on Rachel's arm as she sauntered past me.

"It's not greedy if I'm on my own," I pointed out.

Rachel dropped onto the chair beside me, kicking her legs up onto the tire-table.

"You've been avoiding me."

"No I haven't," I said, flicking the flint of my lighter.

"Now say that and look me in the eye." 

I groaned in frustration and turned to face her.

"I haven't been avoiding-" Before I could finish, she reached over, and flicked me between my eyebrows. Hard. "What the fuck?"  
"Fibbers get flicked."  
"I ain't lying-" I received another flick, "Fuck, stop hitting me."  
"You sound like a twelve-year-old girl," she raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever…" I muttered, taking the spliff back from her and taking a drag.

"Dude, you're acting weird," She chuckled, a little nervously, "what's going on with you?"  
"Nothing, I'm just…" I let out a deep breath of smoke, "Look, I'm… I'm going through something."  
"Like, with your dad, or…?"  
"No, no, nothing like that…" I shook my head, "Something's going to happen. Something bad and… I don't know how to stop it." I took a breath to steady my voice.

"Dude, don't tell me you're catching feelings…"

"I'm serious," I let out a laugh – if only to keep myself from crying out of exasperation, "I'm scared. It's like… it's like… I'm the only one who can stop it. But I just want to run away."

I elected to smoke more, breathing out deeply. The Bay was going to be destroyed. The only clue to stopping it was finding 'The Wolf'. But what the hell did that mean? An actual wolf? Was it symbolic? I'd seen what would come to pass. I'd lived that moment over and over again.

"So why don't you?"

I looked up at Rachel, whose eyes soared right into mine.

"What?"  
"Let's run away."  
"Yeah, let's just jump on that freight train right now…" I laughed.

"Let's do it!"

She jumped out of her chair, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of my chair. I stood directly in front of her, watching those golden green eyes look deeply into mine, like a mosaic of emeralds with speckles and streaks of gold. I look down at our hands, our fingers intertwined loosely.

"I can't run away," I swallowed, "I wish I could, but I can't."  
"Why not?"  
"What about my friends? People are-"

"You don't owe anyone anything, Robbie," Rachel assured me, taking a step even closer to me. I became incredibly aware of the air hanging between us, weighed down by some unknowable force, "there's nothing wrong with running away sometimes."

I tried to take in every detail of her face. The indiscernible freckles on those high, Scandinavian cheekbones. The point of her chin, the arch of her eyebrows, the strands of hair that hung in front of her ears, the soft arc of her lips, thinner than you'd think.

"You mean a lot to me, you know," I swallowed again, hoping to get that catch in the back of my throat down to my stomach.

"Douche," She grinned. Her hand creeped up to the back of my hair, sending sparks crackling down my spine. I'd spent months remembering that feeling, and the feeling is just indescribable.

I wrapped a hand around her waist, resting it on the small of her back. God, I'd forgotten how well she fit inside my arms.

And then I stopped thinking.

I leant in, and pressed my lips against hers. I felt my mouth pop and crackle and explode and sizzle, my heart beating against my ribcage like a jackhammer. I screwed my eyes closed, not wanting to let go of this moment.

And then I felt myself being flung backwards, like a dog does when the owner pulls on the leash. I was jerked out of my body, and into that eternal white abyss.

 **Well, guys – let me know what you liked about this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I know I didn't include Warner in this chapter, but I will be including him, Maggie, and Octavio in another chapter, with more focus.**

 **Please leave a review detailing:**

 **What worked well?**

 **What didn't?**

 **Abigail's Power?**

 **Any new theories?**

 **The representation of Rachel?**

 **Kenna's old personality?**


	21. Chapter 19: Superposition Prevention

**Sorry I haven't updated in… years. But, I basically wasn't sure if the ending was going to measure up to the rest of the story. Truth is that I wish I spent more time to actually come up with a better plot, and I've kinda written myself into a corner. Regardless, I'll do my best with it and try my best not to disappoint you all.**

 **It's crazy how many of you followed this story, so I'll try and finish this before the year's out because you've all been so patient and waited so long. Literally, if it wasn't for you guys, I might've just binned this story.**

 **I doubt I'll write a sequel to this story – I may write another story based at the school, but it'll most likely revolve around different classes.**

 _ **Reviews…**_

 _ **TO ALL –**_ _I missed you guys like hell!_

 _ **W. R. Winters**_ **–** _I didn't really intend for Robbie to replace Chloe. Whereas Chloe's more of an off-beat rebel, I tried to make Robbie more of a popular party-boy. I don't really like featuring main characters too much, because one person might think it's spot-on, and the other will think it's awful._

 _Fair enough – though, being able to control time is a bit OP, so I'm trying to find ways to limit the powers._

 _ **iamgoku –**_ _Hope you enjoyed this one! Thanks for all the kind words – they do mean a lot! Nice to know you enjoyed it._

 _ **mayurie –**_ _Maybe if I had the chance again, I would've included Chloe but another reason not to is because Before The Storm wasn't out when I wrote that, so I didn't really want to contradict the game. Well… not too much._

 _No Warner Maggie and Octavio in this chapter, but they are in the next one!_

 _ **legendsofwoe –**_ _I'll just hold up my hands and say that's a plothole – I didn't really take into account the whole 'movement is restricted' thing. I saw that as a pure game mechanic. I do get what you mean about Rachel and 'many miles', but I'm not trying to say that Robbie was the exception – Robbie's just one of the many._

 _ **So hard to choose usernames –**_ _Haha, yeah, I think I forgot to say that in his first chapter. Yeah, Robbie was not the type you'd take home to meet the parents._

 _Ah, the Q & A thing – yeah, that's still gonna be a thing at the end of this story._

 _Well, I mean, I know I've changed a hell of a lot since I started writing this story._

 _No, Robbie didn't change anything. I mean, unless I've missed something that I wrote._

 _ **Guest**_ _– Thanks buddy! Yeah, I'm actually quite proud of writing their interactions – I'm so happy I was really selective with the cast just because they all work so well together. All you character creators reading this, give yourselves a pat on the back._

 _ **ZenoZen**_ _ **–**_ _No, not yet. I mean, not finishing this would be more disappointing than any ending I could write, right?_

 _ **MaximumVictory –**_ _Since you asked so nicely…_

 _ **Guest**_ _– Damn, alright, here's another chapter, just don't hurt me!_

 **Also – I'm going to change the name since 'Corvus Lupus' was always intended on being a placeholder. While it does have a special name in my heart, it's time to retire it.**

 **So, here is the latest chapter of 'The Arcadia Phenomenon'.**

 **Hailey: Superposition Prevention**

I was furious at Robbie. Scratch that. I was _pissed_ at Robbie.

I know that lots of people my age complain about not being able to trust people, but I wasn't. I'd never really trusted anyone. Not before I met the others with their abilities. And, maybe it was because he grabbed me in front of that car, or maybe it's because he was the first person I met with a power, but I just… I never expected him to use me like that.

It's a hard thing to explain, but I felt tainted. It wasn't like he'd copied my power before. No, it was like he'd _leeched_ off of me. Stolen a part of me. As soon as I teleported to the garage, I felt dirty. Like this power wasn't just mine anymore. There was a time when I would've felt happy about that but now… it was as though he'd stolen something from me.

I walked around the garage, cautious that he wouldn't see me – well, who knew if he would just disappear somewhere? But, Robbie could not see me, he was facing the bonnet of his car, his back to me. On the bonnet of his car, sat a large duffle bag with his jacket stuffed into it. Robbie held a phone to his ear.

"Yeah… on the overlook. Bring your book… See you there."

Robbie took his phone from his ear and placed it in his jeans pocket and leaned against the bonnet of his car.

"Robbie!"

He turned around to look at me. His face was paler than I'd seen it before, with heavy bags under his eyes. I marched up to him and flung my hand across his face. I'd never slapped someone before. I didn't expect my hand to sting that much. Robbie fell against the bonnet of the car, a hand to his cheek.

"I trusted you," I managed to force out the words, "you used me."

"There wasn't time to explain…"

"I can't believe you did this to me." I scoffed. "I thought you were my friend."

"I saw it, Hailey." Robbie removed his hand from his reddening cheek and stood up straight. "I saw it happen."

"Saw what happen?"

"The Rupture- Arcadia Bay be destroyed. I was there, and it happened over and over and over again." Robbie's brow stitched together as his eyes drifted away into the distance. "It's real."

I'd never seen Robbie look this serious. Or speak without forming some sort of insult. The boy in front of me didn't sound like Robbie. He barely looked like him.

"You should've told us," I muttered, holding my elbow close to my stomach. Robbie gave a slow nod.

"You're right, I should've."

I peered over his shoulder at the unzipped brown leather duffle bag.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yeah." Robbie took a step to the side, blocking my view of the bag.

"Where?" I bit my lip, fighting the instinct to smack him again.

"I'm not running away, if that's what you think."

"Then tell me where you're going."

Robbie opened his mouth. Then closed it. He shook his head and scoffed, turning away from me and grabbing the bag. My hand lurched forwards and snatched the handle loosely held by his hand.

"Hailey, give it back," Robbie's voice was low and tarnished by a hint of desperation.

"Tell me where you're going."

"I'm in mood for this. Give it back-" Robbie swung a hand forwards for the bag, but I screwed my eyes shut and opened them to find myself on the other side of the car. Robbie turned around to glare at me. "I'm not playing games with you, Hailey…"

I looked down at the bag and found the grip of a black handgun peeking out from the side of a map. I looked up to Robbie slowly. He dropped his eyes quickly to the floor, his jaw clenched and shoulders seized up.

"Why do you have a gun, Robbie?" Robbie turned away from me with a forceful sigh, ruffling a hand through his hair. "Answer the question, Robbie, why do you have a gun?"

"I need it!"

"After everything that happened. After what happened with Nathan, and now you want to use one-" Robbie spun around, grabbing the handle of his bag and wrenching it away from me.

"I don't want to." Robbie opened the door of his car, throwing his bag behind the driver's seat and leaning against the roof. "Too many people died, Hailey. Chloe… Kate… Rachel." Robbie pushed himself up straight and wiped away the sweat from his forehead.

"We've all lost people, Robbie. But you don't see me holding a gun."

Robbie let out a strangled laugh of frustration and turned away from me. His jean pocket buzzed. He removed his phone and tapped it a few times.

"I need to go."

Robbie climbed into his car and closed the door after him. I fixed my eyes on the seat next to him. I was going with him. I was going to sit in that seat. I let my legs buckle and before I could even close my eyes, I had hit my head on the roof of the car, but I was sitting next to a recoiling Robbie.

"Jesus, Hailey!"

"I'm coming with you."

"Don't do that!"

"Annoying is it?"

"A bit, yes!"

"Good."

Robbie scoffed in response and turned his key over in the ignition, the engine purring and spluttering slightly. We started driving forwards through the town. I couldn't help but stare at everything that made up the Bay. Blackwell Academy, the Two Whales Diner, the abandoned mill in the distance.

I looked over to Robbie, who kept his eyes on the road ahead of him. It wasn't like he didn't notice them. No, it was like he was actively not looking at the people and places that we passed.

"What happens?" Robbie's eyes flickered towards me. "The Rupture. What happens?"

"What do you think?"

"But what causes it? How do we stop it?"

"We?" Robbie glanced away from the road.

"Yes, 'we'." I frowned. "Octavio was right. We've got these gifts for a reason – we can save people with them!"

"What, we're going to put on spandex and start zipping about Arcadia Bay? Stopping diabolical masterminds masquerading as stoners?" He raised an eyebrow. I was pissed at him, no doubt about it, but it was good. There was still a flicker of Robbie somewhere inside this boy.

"We can stop the Rupture. We can save everyone."

"It might not be that simple," Robbie murmured as we left the town, taking the highway my foster dad had driven me down.

"Why not?"

"Because someone we know causes it."

Robbie pulled the car into a layby on an overlook. Leaning against a wooden railing next to the plaque that said ' _Arcadia Bay_ ', was Alex Harper with a messenger bag across his chest and a notebook tucked under one arm.

"Why is he here?" I frowned.

"I need him to help me find someone."

"Who? Why?"

Robbie kept both hands on the steering wheel and refused to look at me once again. He reached behind and grabbed the duffle bag, opening it up. I saw the handle of the gun and my throat seized up, gripping all of my breath tightly.

"What's happened to you, Robbie?"

"It's a last resort," he assured me.

"You're acting stupid!" I couldn't keep my voice steady anymore. "We can evacuate the Bay! We can tell the police-"

"Tell them what?" Robbie raised his voice, his face crumpled in frustration. "Tell them we've got these magical abilities?"

"We can show them!"

"We can't…" Robbie grabbed his temples.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid!" Robbie shouted at me, smacking a hand against the steering wheel. "Okay? I'm afraid. And right now," Robbie said, his eyes drifting down to the gun in the bag, "I don't know what to do. So I'm going to talk with my friend."

"I'm your friend, Robbie. Kenna, Maggie – all of the others. You saved me, remember? I still owe you for that."

Robbie kept his hazel eyes on me for a single moment before he opened the door.

"Just stay in the car."

 **Robbie**

Hailey didn't get it. I didn't blame her – I wouldn't have got it if I were her. But this wasn't a possibility, this was a certainty. Arcadia Bay was _going_ _to be_ destroyed. Alex was the only one who understood this. He'd brought the book, and I only assumed there were more in his bag.

"Alex," I called out to him, coughing and clearing my throat.

"You alright?"

"Fine." I waved a hand. "You were right. The Rupture is going to happen."

"When?"

"I was hoping you could tell me…" I looked over my shoulder to see Hailey was still in the car, glaring out of the window. "Abigail causes it."

"Abigail Constantine?" Alex's grey almond eyes widened.

"She's like us." I nodded. "All of us. She can move… well, the ground. She said it happens when she's upset or angry."

"She told you this?"

"Not exactly…"

"So how do we stop her?" Alex paced towards the railing.

"I'm…" I coughed, mainly out embarrassment, "I think that I'm meant to stop her."

"Meant to?" Alex raised an eyebrow. The silver ring on his left hand clinked against the gold crucifix around his neck.

"Look, Alex, I'm not like you." I half-laughed. "I don't believe in… God and fate and stuff like that. But I saw that vision for a reason. I travelled back in time and found out about Abigail for a reason…"

"Rob, hold up, you travelled through time?"

"I don't think we got these abilities for a reason but… well, what if we can give them a reason? If I can copy Abigail's ability, maybe I can stop it…"

"And if you're wrong?"

I looked down to my dufflebag and walked over to a picnic table, placing it down and grabbing the handle of the pistol.

"Rob," Alex put a hand on mine, trying to force the gun back into the bag.

"If we have to."

"Killing is never right!"

"So we're supposed to let her kill everyone else?"

Alex ran a hand against the back of his blonde hair as he walked away, muttering to himself under his breath before turning back to me.

"We can get Abigail out of Arcadia Bay – she can't destroy the town if she's not in the town…"

"Then she can destroy a different town instead?"

"Okay, so we'll…. We'll calm her down. We'll teach her how to control her power-"

"What are the chances of that? I can barely control mine, Kenna can't switch hers off." I took a breath and reached into the bag, pulling out my jacket and tugging it on. "Alex, I don't want to do this anymore than you do. But we're the only ones who really know what's going to happen. If anyone else did this, they'd think it's murder."

Alex glanced to Hailey and then back to me. "Is she going to help?"

"I'm not too sure."

Alex licked his lips. Apart from the gentle breeze, the only sound that could be heard was the clinking of Alex's ring against his crucifix.

"Okay," Alex said finally, "let's go find her." He grabbed my shoulder, "But we don't kill her if we can help it."

"Of course," I reached into my bag, grabbing the map, "I just need to talk to Hailey…" I turned back to the car and found Hailey was no longer there. She had teleported, of course. "Hailey…," I hissed.

"Problem?"

"It's nothing," I turned back to the map. "Where do you think we'll find her?"

"Could be in Blackwell?" Alex placed his book on the table, flipping through various pages of drawings and cursive scribbles.

"No, I asked Victoria. She said Abigail wasn't there?"

"Victoria said that exactly?"

"I'm paraphrasing."

"Two Whales Diner, maybe? Or the Bean Café?" Alex rubbed his chin. "Where would you go if you were upset?"

"To the pub?" I shrugged.

"Funny…."

"I don't know, I'd go somewhere I…" I paused, looking up at the abandoned mill. "I'd go to the mill. It's quiet and… I like it there. It makes me feel… well, it's safe there."

"Quiet and safe," Alex nodded as he re-examined the A3 drawing of the Rupture. His mouth slowly opened as he brought a finger down on the map. "Is that lighthouse in every drawing?"

"The lighthouse?"

Alex began flipping across the pages. Sure enough, in the forefront of every drawing, there was a sketch of the lighthouse that looked out over the Bay.

"You reckon she'll be there?" I asked him.

"Maybe."

"Alright, let's go then."

I waited for Alex to turn his back before I took the handgun out of my bag and shoved it down the back of my jeans as we walked to my car.

 **Well guys, there's a nice lengthy update for you! I don't know when I'll update next, but it'll be soon…ish? Anyway, let me know what you thought of the chapter. What you think is going to happen, etc etc.**

 **R.**


	22. Chapter 20: Perceived Control

**Hey guys! Another chapter so… here you go**

 **Not incredibly long, but I just finished a RDR story and I know some of you are still reading this (that handful of you), so I figured I'd try my best to squeeze in some writing every now and then. I'm currently looking for a job, finishing my disso, preparing a presentation and also getting ready to move into a little place out of uni.**

 **But yeah, here's the next chapter – well on our way to finishing this… well, novel, I guess.**

 _ **Reviews…**_

 _ **W. R. Winters –**_ _I get what you mean – as I said, wrote myself into a corner. But, to be fair, he's not doing it alone – he's working with Alex. I mean, if you knew that the Rupture could happen in a couple of hours, would you want to waste time filling everyone in? Whether Robbie's smart or not, he has reasons for acting the way he does._

 _Also, never apologise for a harsh review – they keep challenging me and we only perform at our best when we're challenged. Besides, it's been two years since I wrote this – I like to think I've improved since then._

 _ **WhiteReaper4**_ _ **–**_ _I'm glad you're happy! Well, enjoy this chapter._

 _ **Iamgoku**_ _ **–**_ _Haha, that's no problem!_ __ _I hope you're still reading and enjoy this chapter!_

 _ **BlueLanternRazor –**_ _I mean, sure it's possible. Everyone knows I play my cards_ _ **very**_ _close to the chest when writing, so… guess you'll have to find out the ol' fashioned way._

 _ **Guest –**_ _Glad you like the new name._

 **Kenna: Perceived Control**

The Junkyard wasn't the sort of place I was used to. True, I had been here before on occasion, when Rachel Amber had dragged us along with Nathan and Robbie. We used to sit inside that old school bus a lot. I'd always got the best seat – the one with the least amount of stains.

Today, however, we were sat outside. Maggie sat on a chair with Cat purring and nestled upon her stomach, pawing at her shirt. Maggie's legs were draped over onto the next chair, on the lap of Octavio, who was surprisingly un-flushed in the face. He grazed a finger of her exposed leg. I got the feeling of nervousness in my stomach – a feeling I usually got because of Octavio. I closed my eyes and tried to find _my_ feelings. I tried to… push back the nerves.

I opened my eyes and found they had gone. I was happy – content, rather. Relaxed and focused on nothing at all. Except the feelings that trickled up from my leg and into my…

No, wait, that was Maggie.

Thankfully, my focus was interrupted by the shattering of glass. I turned over my shoulder to see Warner the Warmonger there, pointing a finger-gun at a row of bottles on the roof of a crumpled car.

"Check it!" He grinned, turning back to us all. "Tell me you all saw that!"

Warner glanced to me. I shrugged.

Maggie stroked Cat's ear. "Did you see it, Cat?"

The cat mewed lazily. Well, it seemed lazy – it had started to dawn on me that I didn't seem to be able to pick up on what Cat felt or thought. I bit my lip, looking intently at Cat. Of course, this did nothing, and Cat happily continued pulling at Maggie's green top.

"Oxy," I called over to him, "you know how you have all those theories?"

"Yeah?" I immediately felt anticipation rise up from the pit of his stomach, a flurry of mind-reading and mind-control thoughts flip through his mind like pages of a book.

"Why do you reckon I can't pick up on what Cat feels? Or… thinks or… anything?"

Octavio leant forwards, moving his arms over Maggie's legs and placing them on his knees. The silver rings on each of his fingers clinked together as he rubbed a thumb against his lip ring.

"Well, cats are pretty much like humans. I mean… there are areas in the brain that cause emotion that are practically identical…"

Another shatter of glass with Warner turning around. "Are you guys seriously not paying attention to this?"

"But… I mean, animals don't really have the same intelligence. So maybe you two can't communicate in the same. Like… like a blind person trying to talk to a deaf person."

"Yeah, but I can talk to her," Maggie pointed out, "so can't I be a conduit? Or a catalyst? Or… something?"

"You talk to her, not the other way around, Dolittle," Warner said, twitching his fingers by his waist and quickly raising them at the bottles in a finger-gun fashion. The sheet of aluminium behind the bottles dented inwards.

"Give it a rest, Jesse James." I rolled my eyes. "What are you even doing?"

"Getting ready for next time we see Robbie."

"You can't be serious." I scoffed. Warner turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Warner, he's not made out of glass."

"So?"

"So, what are you going to do, point your finger at him and hope he shatters?"

"Fine them, I'll just hold him down."

"That sounds creepy…" Octavio muttered.

"Shut it, spunky." Warner waved a hand. Cat let out a hiss at Warner, who took a step back, face scrambled in confusion.

"I think she's protective of Oxy." Maggie smiled, scratching Cat's ear.

" _That's fitting, because he's also a pussy…_ " It'd definitely been Warner's voice I heard. I glanced over to Warner, who already held out a hand, lips parted and slightly curled, but this was only for a moment. The next second, he stumbled forwards. I grabbed my chair, which was shuddering violently.

The streetlamps along the rode began to fizz and spark before falling to the ground. My breath was caught in my throat as I felt myself begin to panic- no, wait, _Octavio_ felt himself begin to panic.

I looked over to see him panting and screwing his eyes shut. Maggie slid her hands behind his ears and began speaking quietly to him. I looked over to Warner, who stumbled over to us before the junkyard was cloven in two. We fell down as the large schoolbus near us was tipped forwards, barrelling towards us.

I looked over to see Octavio grab Maggie tight, trying to roll on top of her. I covered my face, and then saw the faded yellow schoolbus hang in the air, gentle swaying up and down. I lowered my arms, looking to see whether something had caught it. Something had – or, rather, someone.

Warner held his hands out, grunting as the bus hung in front of him. It was as though the entire weight of the bus was upon him as he let out a roar and tried to stand straight.

"Oxy, come on!" Maggie grabbed Octavio's hand and dragged him through the junkyard, out of the rapidly collapsing hole.

As I ran over to Warner, I felt the crushing feeling upon my chest, the exhaustion and the aching of my muscles. No, no, that was him. I wrapped my arms around Warner and began to pull him backwards out from under the bus.

Finally, as I pulled him out from the collapsing hole, the bus thundered down, dragging a plate of dirt down into the depths between the two sides of the junkyard. I looked to Warner, who seemed high – groggy and half-dead. Blood rushed out from his nostril, his skin was clammy and pale. His eyes wouldn't fully open, though they looked incredibly bloodshot.

"Warner, are you okay?" I wiped the sweat from his face.

"Peachy," Warner coughed. "What the hell was that?"

The ground began to shudder again as I straightened up, looking to see the town.

"It's the Rupture. It's happening."

"Jesus…" Warner dropped his head back to the ground in exhaustion. "Oxy, you helping me up?"

Octavio left Maggie's side to grab Warner's hand.

"What are you talking about?" Maggie frowned.

"Well…" Octavio looked from Maggie to me. "Obviously we've got to help."

"Help what?" I asked.

"There's people in danger, and we can help them…"

"Don't be an idiot Oxy," Maggie said curtly, "what can we do? The only person who can make a difference is Warner, and he nearly killed himself doing it!"

"I'm fine," Warner panted, waving a limp hand.

"We can't just do nothing!" Octavio protested. "Maggie, I know you don't… look, we have these gifts for a reason. _This_ is that reason. We can help people – all of us."

"Oxy, I talk to a cat," Maggie said.

"She makes a good point…" Warner straightened up.

"I'm coming with you," I said to Octavio.

"Not you too, Kenna…"

"If we don't help, who will?" I replied. "Look, it's nothing to do with our… things. We know what's happening, so it's our responsibility to help, right?" I looked to Octavio.

"Right," He responded. Maggie sighed and then watched as Cat softly mewled and walked over to Octavio's side. Maggie folded her arms and tapped her foot before letting out a breath.

"Fine! Fine!" She walked towards us as Warner began leading us into the town. "Traitor…" Maggie muttered to Cat.

 **Alex**

 _10 Minutes Earlier…_

"You're certain she's around here?" I asked Robbie, who rolled his hazel eyes.

"No… but I don't want to leave just because we haven't looked hard enough…"

I'd never known Robbie to act seriously… or to say anything without being a sarcastic… well, a dick. But there was some gravity to each of his words – as if he was actually using his brain. Finally, Robbie stopped still as he looked towards the lighthouse.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I…" Robbie frowned, looking back to me. "You still have your notebook?"

"Sure." I nodded and delved into my satchel, producing the small moleskin book and handing it to him. Robbie thumbed through the pages and held the book up against the lighthouse, taking several steps to the side and then looking to me.

"Is that… is that meant to be us?" Robbie asked me. I took the book from him and examined my sketch – a silhouette stood by the lighthouse. I opened my mouth and closed it. "If that's the case, why's there only one of us here?"

"The future's always in a state of flux…" I reminded him. "Or…"

"Or what?"

"Or _that_ 's meant to be someone else." Robbie swallowed and then placed a hand on the hilt of the pistol down the back of his jeans. I grabbed his arm and stared into his eyes. "That's a last resort."

"You think I don't know that?" Robbie shrugged his arm away from me and began walking forwards.

"You're _really_ willing to do this?"

"I already told you, Alex…"

"Even after all that shit with Nathan?"

Robbie turned around and pointed a finger at me. "Don't."

"He killed Chloe, and now you're here, ready to kill another girl-"

"It's nowhere _near_ the same, Alex. You know that."

"I meant what I said, Robbie – killing is never right."

Robbie shook his head. "I'm going to stop her however I need to. You can either come and help or stay here."

Christ… how did it come to this? I tried to help and now… now one of my mates had a gun and was talking about killing some poor lonely girl we barely knew. I walked towards him. "I'm coming – only to stop you making some mistake."

As I took a step, I lost my balance. The earth beneath us began to quake and shudder. Robbie stumbled and grabbed my hand, pulling me back up to my feet. I looked across the bay to see the lights of numerous buildings flicker and die. "Oh, shit…" I murmured. We were late…

"Lighthouse – it's got to be," Robbie said to me. I nodded and we began to sprint forwards towards the lighthouse from my drawings. It had to be there.

It just had to be.

 **Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's surprisingly easy to fall back into the voices of each character – that's a credit to how well you guys wrote them!**

 **Anyhoo, see you guys soon with the next chapter – only 4 or 5 chapters left now! Well… 4 chapters and an epilogue… maybe.**


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